Yoshi Tails
by CrashingThunder
Summary: Set in the Paper Mario Universe, three Yoshis (OC) embark on an adventure to find a great treasure. Along the way, they'll travel through many areas and meet many familiar (and some not so familiar) faces. Bloopers, Boos, Bandits, Penguins and more! A quick-moving adventure story that's easy to read and always entertaining. Adventure, Humor, and a little love sprinkled around!
1. Chapter 1 :: The Beginning

_Author's Note: _

_ This story takes place before the events of the game Paper Mario, and is loosely set in that universe. Some of the characters from that game will be part of the story, but will not be the focus. What I hope to end up with is a good adventure story, with some humor mixed in here and there (writing things that are funny and still written well is actually pretty hard, I've come to realize). Any reviews are very, very much appreciated, as writing a story and getting no feedback or comments (even if there's just a certain part you liked, I'd love to know) isn't any fun. Maybe I'm too old to be writing Paper Mario fanfiction, but I don't care. It is by no means perfect. Heck, I'm writing this author's note after finishing chapter 9, and already I'm going back and changing a bunch of things, adding in more details here and there. So, this story will be a good writing exercise for me, as I've never really written a story before! So, without further adieu, I present to you, "Yoshi Tails"._

Prologue

The warm, salty breeze rolled over the luscious green canopies and meandered its way into a quaint Yoshi village. For longer than anyone could remember, Yoshis had been living here on Lavalava Island. From the ancients to the present time, they remained. The Ravens, a longtime friend of the Yoshis, also lived on the island. They lived in elaborate treehouses with remarkable architecture, and were known for their ingenuity, despite their strange quirks and ways.

The island itself was very secluded from other regions of the Mushroom Kingdom. So much in fact, that no Yoshi had ever even left the island. Well, to be fair, no Yoshi had ever bothered to try. They had everything they needed – food, water, shelter, more food – eating was a cornerstone of Yoshian culture. It was customary to eat eight square meals a day. Breakfast, second breakfast, mid-morning brunch, lunch, mid-afternoon lunch, afternoon lunch, dinner, and second dinner. With snacks in between each meal of course! So, life as a Yoshi was peaceful and for the most part, everyone was content with the simplistic lifestyle.

For the most part.

Chapter 1 :: The Beginning

"Wake up sleepy head!" Sori yelled as she jumped up and down on the bed, shaking it repeatedly. "I'm sooo bored of this place! Nothing ever happens. We just get up, and eat, and eat, and eat. And then we go to sleep." There was no response. "Come on, Ryu! Get up!" Sori said as she jumped even harder.

"Mmmpthg" snorted Ryu as he got out of the bed. "Okay, just give me a minute to wake up, will you?" He then proceeded to get up. "Okay, I'm ready. What's this all about?"

"I had the great idea of going up to the volcano and throwing rocks in. Wouldn't that be so much fun?" Ryu thought of at least three other things that could be more fun, but he didn't say.

"Sure! Let's go get Byre, too. He could use the adventure." Byre was a rather odd Yoshi. He wasn't very courageous, but could outrun any other Yoshi that had ever tried to race him. He was extremely shy, but could cook like nobody's business. Because of this uncanny ability to cook food, one could imagine he was quite popular among food connoisseurs, which of course includes every Yoshi in existence. He was also a yellow yoshi, in case that has some sort of significance.

Sori and Ryu walked over to Byre's hut and knocked on the door. Byre answered. "Hey guys, nice peaceful morning, isn't it?"

"Ryu and I are going to toss rocks into the volcano. Want to come?"

"Umm, well you see, I'd rather n—"

"Great, let's go!"

Sori knew how to play Byre. She always tried to pull him into things so that he'd be less shy and more courageous. Ryu, on the other hand, was very courageous. There wasn't anything that could phase him – at least noticeably. His color reflected his bright and flashy personality – red. Sori was similar, but different. She was also courageous, but not as much as him. She was also smarter. And less stupid. And not jerkish. And – Sori caught her thoughts as they came up to the rim of the volcano. All three stood in a line and peered slowly over into the dark abyss.

"Saved your life!" said Ryu as he shook Byre. He shrieked in terror and jumped backwards into Ryu. Ryu was laughing through it all.

"Hah hah, it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt" said Byre.

"Yeah, yeah. I couldn't resist" said Ryu. He tossed in a rock, and everyone listened as it clanged against the stone walls. They didn't hear a thud. After a short while, they were all very bored.

"This is getting boring guys. Let's just go back and do something else" said Sori.

"I agree, let's just go back before someone—"

"I bet you can't push that big rock down, Sori" said Ryu, as he gestured to a rock, perched on the rim of the volcano. Ryu knew how to play Sori. She could never resist a challenge.

"Oh I can do that, easy!" she said as she started to push the rock over.

"Is this the best idea, I mean, what if—" The rock tilted over the rim, and hurtled down towards the dark abyss. It hit the walls a couple of times, causing lots of dirt and rocks to explode outwards. It hit the bottom with a very audible thud.

"Told you I could do it" said Sori. The ground rumbled and shook. Before Ryu and Sori could turn around to get away from the rim, Byre had already started scuttling downwards. A fraction of a second later, red-hot lava came spewing out the top of the volcano.


	2. Chapter 2 :: The Eruption

Chapter 2 :: The Eruption

The three were flying down the mountain, jumping from rock to rock, and just trying not to trip. Sori looked back as she ran. The sky was painted grey from the ash of the volcano. The face of the volcano was on fire, with rivers of molten lava oozing downwards in every direction. _We did this. No, I did this_, she thought. They made it to the village just in time. The village was built into the side of the volcano, and was in dire trouble. Luckily, the Ravens had built a stone wall that went around the side of the village that was higher in elevation. It had never actually been tested, but it was just about to. The lava rolled in slowly, each wave gliding over the last. The waves of lava lapped up against the wall, getting higher and higher with each one. Most of the Yoshis and Ravens in the village were all huddled up at the top of the wall, looking down at the lake of lava below them. As the waves stopped, everyone sighed, although Byre's was noticeably louder. He was pale.

After the lava hardened and the sky began to clear, the tribe went to work cleaning up the mess that the eruption caused. Ryu decided he'd rather go check out the rim of the volcano after the eruption, and Sori came with him.

"So...do you think we caused the volcano to erupt?" said Sori.

"No" said Ryu. Sori sighed. "You did" said Ryu. She frowned.

"Oh come on, It's all just a coincidence. Tossing a rock down a volcano can't cause it to erupt"

"Excuses, excuses" he replied. Sori decided not to protest anymore. It was impossible to win an argument with Ryu. They continued up the face of the mountain. The rivers of lava had darkened into black tears.

"Whew! Finally, we're up here again" said Ryu.

"The view is really great up here, even after the eruption" said Sori. She turned around, looking down across the island. It was later in the day, and the sun was soaking the sky with orange. Suddenly, she felt happy. Happy to be alive, but also happy to be up here on top of the world. _On top of the world with Ryu_, she thought. She felt like this from time to time. She wasn't sure about Ryu. He had this way of dealing with things that Sori always liked. He wasn't phased by anything, and being with him was always and adventure. She wondered how much she really liked him. But whenever he said something stupid or was being a jerk, she stopped wondering.

"Come on Sori, we're wasting daylight" said Ryu. The peered down into the abyss once again.

"What's that opening down there?" said Sori. There was a small cave-like opening a ways downwards.

"I don't know, but let's go check it out!" he replied as he flutter-jumped down to the opening. Sori made her way down in a few graceful bounds.

"Definitely a cave or something" said Ryu. "It looks like it goes on for a while. Let's go!"

"Ryu, we can't go in there without some sort of light source" Sori said. '_Oh come on, Byre_' thought Ryu. He was going to say it, but held his tongue.

"You're right. Tomorrow, we go caving"

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow."


	3. Chapter 3 :: Tomorrow

Chapter 3 :: Tomorrow

Yesterday, Byre decided he needed a rest from adventure and decided to just relax on the beach for most of the day. He spent the morning making cookies, coconut shakes, banana parfaits and meloncake for lunch, and had it all sprawled out in front up him, when suddenly, a Raven flew into his face.

"Oy, that's a no-good landin' " said the Raven. He was standing in the meloncake.

"No, it was spot on..." said Byre. "Anyways, what's up, Ray?"

"I've been lookin' for ye fer hours! I saw Ryu and Sori heading up the side of the volcano without youse, so I was worried somethin'd happen'd!" said Ray. _Just the two of them?_

"Oh, well, I'm fine. I don't want to go up there again anyways." He really didn't.

"Alrigh'ey then" replied Ray as he flew off.

Ray was a peculiar Raven, and that's saying something, because Ravens were weird creatures. There once was Raven who got his beak stuck in a coconut because he thought he had invented a revolutionary new method of travel by rolling around with coconuts. Then, there was another Raven who built a catapult out of coconuts and sand that was capable of throwing small boulders up to 16 Yoshian Golags.

One Yoshian Golag is the largest distance ever flutter-jumped by a Yoshi over flat ground. The record holder's name was Golag, a burly green yoshi whose thighs were as thick as his stomach. Many have tried to have attempted to break his record over the years, in hopes to have the unit named after themselves. It has been stated on numerous occasions, however, that changing the base unit for distance would make things difficult in the future, and that the name may stay that way regardless of if the record is beaten.

Some Ravens were more talented than others. Ray was somewhere in between. He was a good engineer, but had a tendency to make mistakes. In a way, he and Byre were alike, and they had been good friends for nearly forever.


	4. Chapter 4 :: The Three Keys

Chapter 4 :: The Three Keys

The next morning, they were prepared to go into the volcano to check out the opening that had been uncovered from the eruption. After much talking, Ryu and Sori had finally convinced Byre to come along with them, and Ray too. They stood at the entrance for a moment.

"Shouldn't we tell someone else about this?" inquired Byre.

"No" said Sori. She looked at Byre sympathetically as they made their way down into the cave. The light emitting from the torches shone dimly against the rocky walls. As they made their way downwards, the air became wet and cold, and then warmer.

"We're getting close to lava. This cave goes on for forever!" said Ryu. Just after, they rounded a corner and came to a large, steep staircase going upwards.

"Whoa, that was sudden" said Sori.

"Apparently someone has been here before" said Ryu. They went up the stairs and came into a large, circular room with a small circular hole in the middle. They made their way towards it.

"Hey guys, look! There's some text written here!" said Byre. "I can't read it, though."

"Looks like Ancient Raven. Ray?"

"I'll take a look at 'er" he replied. "Let's see here...it says...thou who wanteth the sacred bath robe—"

"What?" said everyone.

"Sorry, my mistake. This is an old dialect. Here's what it says"

_Thou who wanteth the sacred treasure_

_Heed my words, measure by measure_

_Something that talks, that eats, that flies_

_Use it here to obtain your prize_

"So, what the heck does that mean?" said Ryu.

"Is it a Raven? Ravens talk, eat and fly" said Sori.

"What'm I s'pposed to do here?" said Ray.

"It's not that, it's something else" said Byre. "Something that talks...eats...flies...okay this is a weird guess but, what about a tongue?"

"A what?" said Sori.

"A tongue. A tongue is used to talk, it eats food, and well...it doesn't _fly_ but it does move really fast, if you're a Yoshi anyways."

"Alright then, you solved the riddle, so you get to use your tongue on this little hole here" said Ryu. He smirked. Byre looked at Sori.

"Don't look at me, I'm not going to do it." Byre looked down through the little hole, just big enough for a Yoshi to stick his tongue in. _It's not going to taste good_,_ but oh well_ he thought. He shot his tongue out into the hole, and suddenly, it constricted.

"Awlwlwlwlwlwlw!" yelped Byre. On the far end of the room, the walls opened up to reveal a small side room. The hole released his tongue.

"That's going to be sore for a few days" said Sori. She couldn't hold back her smile. In the other room was a small pedestal, with a single piece of old, wrinkled paper resting on top.

"It's a MAP!" said Ryu, with joy. Already rushing through his mind were ideas of treasure and adventure.

"This must be our island!" said Sori as she gestured towards a small area in the south.

"Check out these X's! There's three of them. Do you think there's treasure at all of them?" said Ryu.

"Look at what it says down here in the corner" said Sori.

_Find the keys and bring them here to obtain the treasure_

In the wall were three, distinct key holes. "All of these markings are off of our island" said Byre, nervously.

"I guess that means we'll need a boat, then" said Ryu.

Ray was hard at work making the boat the three of them would be using to travel to the mainland. For several days he and the yoshis worked on it. It had three sails – two smaller ones on the front and back, with one larger one in the middle. It was truly a work of art. Surely it would last them the journey, at least that's what he'd hoped. "Tomorrow mornin's the day, me harties" said Ray. "We leave at dawn!"

Everyone was excited for the journey, except Byre. All that ran through his head were hundreds of scenarios where they get lost at sea, or attacked by pirates. It was the night before they embarked on arguably the biggest adventure any Yoshi would ever go on. _Of all of the Yoshis to be the first to leave the island, I'm one of them. ME!_ He thought. He was pacing back and forth by his hammock, as he couldn't sleep. He was jealous of Ray, Sori and Ryu. They could do anything, it seemed. Ryu was the bravest Yoshi he'd ever known. "_It's no wonder that Sori likes him"_ whispered Byre, hardly audible. Byre kept thinking. Sori was beautiful. Not only that, but she was smart too. Ryu didn't have any brains at all! He would go charging head first into trouble like it was nothing, without even giving it a single thought. Byre wasn't nervous anymore – he was working himself up. He let go of his emotions. Tomorrow was a big day, and he'd need a good night's rest


	5. Chapter 5 :: Treasure Hunt

Chapter 5 :: Treasure Hunt

"HOIST THE SAILS!" yelled Ray. They all pulled on the ropes in unison as the white sailcloths rose up high into the air. It was sunrise as they all quickly jumped into the boat, and before they had any time to think about going back, the island was already shrinking rapidly behind them.

"Based on the size of the island on the map, it should take us a couple of days to reach the mainland" said Sori. "I packed enough food to last us for a few days, so we should be good, assuming that we find food there."

"Good, good" said Ryu. "Let's take a look at the map and figure out where we're going to go first." He pulled out the map and sprawled it out across the floor. "There are three X's. One of them is in this forest here" he said as he pointed to it. "Another is in a desert, over here. The last one, I'm not too sure about. It's way over here, but it's in the sky."

"There aren't any markings around it?" said Sori.

"None that I can see. Just a floating red X."

"Well, we'll figure that out later I suppose. The one in the forest is pretty close to the coast. I say we head there first" said Sori. Everyone agreed.

The ocean was peaceful. The deep blue color of the water met the bright blue of the sky in a perfectly flat line along the horizon in all directions. By midday, their island was completely lost from sight, and the sun was pounding against them in the heat. Nothing much happened for the rest of that day, but everyone had different things on their mind. Ray mostly just thought about his boat, making sure that there wouldn't be any problems. He didn't care too much for the treasure the yoshis were after. He just wanted to be able to build things, and being stuck on a boat in the middle of the ocean severely limits creativity.

Ryu had his heart solely set on adventure. He had even forgotten to eat lunch that day because he was so excited. His mind was filled with excitement, and nothing else mattered. Byre was of course, quite the opposite. The dread of leaving the island was, however, starting to wear off. He knew he couldn't go back, and so he looked forward to going ahead. It felt good. He even caught himself being excited about finding the first key for a moment. It was night, now. The skies were dark and not a star could be seen. The clouds were so thick in fact that there was hardly any moonlight. Everyone was below deck, sleeping in hammocks, when something deep in the water started swimming towards the boat.

It came suddenly with the sound of splintering wood. A tentacle came smashing down onto the front of the boat, spraying chips of wood in all directions. Then another, from the other side, and another, and another. Everyone rushed out onto the deck to see what was going on.

"It's a BLOOPER!" yelled Byre. The blooper shrieked, its tentacles thrashing around in every direction. Another tentacle came whipping towards them and knocked them off of their feet.

"Quick! Grab something and kill this thing!" yelled Ryu. He grabbed an oar that was lying on the deck. The tentacle came crashing down again, this time against one of the smaller sails. It wrapped around it, and took it with it back into the water. The boat swayed violently back and forth, water spraying everywhere. Byre and Sori were stabbing one tentacle with oars, but it didn't seem to do much of anything. Ray was flapping around and pecking it. Another tentacle came crashing down, knocking them to their backs. It seemed hopeless. The slime mixed with salt water on the tentacles gleamed dimly in the moonlight, and it smelled like 400 dead Cheep Cheeps. _This can't be how it ends_, thought Byre. All of a sudden, the tentacles retracted back into the water.

"Is it over?" said Sori.

"I think so" said Byre, but before anybody could say any more, the head of the blooper came out of the water and peered over the edge of the boat. Its huge yellow eye stared straight forward with a glazed look.

"It is now!" yelled Ryu, as he jumped from the top of the mast with the oar in his hands. He thrust the oar into the eye of the blooper, and jumped back into the boat. The terrible shriek it made was deafening. Its tentacles thrashed about once more before it submerged back into the water. Several moments passed before anybody said anything.

"That was crazy!" said Ryu.

"I'll say! What a rush!" replied Sori.

"Yeah, but look at me boat!" said Ray. Splinters coated the deck, and the front mast was completely ripped from the base, with some of the floorboards missing.

"Let's just be glad it only took one of the sails" said Sori. Everyone laughed, but breathed a sigh of relief as well. There wouldn't be any more sleep that night.


	6. Chapter 6 :: Forever

Chapter 6 :: Forever

By the end of the next day, they were finally nearing the mainland. It was a long and tiresome journey, but they had finally made it.

"Land, ho!" said Ray. He was perched up in the eagle's nest. Off in the distance was the coastline. It stretched across most of the horizon.

"It's so big" said Sori. She had never seen such a huge amount of land before. None of them had. It was amazing to think about how much there was, and how little they really were. They came up to a sandy beach and tied the boat to several large boulders.

"We're here, on this beach" said Ryu. He pointed to the southern side of the mainland. "We need to head straight north, up into that forest." With that, they were off. They came to a grassy plain and off in the distance they could see the forest. From far away it looked rather small, but after just a few minutes of more walking, the size of the forest started to become apparent. It wasn't a normal forest at all. The trees were immensely tall, dark and crooked – many of them didn't even have leaves. They stood on a clearing in front of the forest.

"Well, we tried. Let's head back" said Byre as he turned around and started to walk back, when Sori's arm blocked him. She looked at him, her eyes fierce but also friendly. He wanted to keep looking into her eyes, but she turned back.

"Come on, Byre. It's too late to turn back now" she said. He knew it. He had to press forward, and that's what he'd do. They walked into the forest. Within minutes, it was much darker, and the forest got even spookier. Byre suddenly stopped walking and stood rigidly.

"I think...s-s-s-something...is on my b-b-back" he said, stuttering. He turned around, and a giant spider was perched on his shoulder. Sori was shocked, and quickly swiped it off.

"Nothing there, just a leaf!" she said, with a surprised smile.

"Oh, whew. That's a relief" he replied. Sori looked at Ryu and Ray. They shrugged and continued onwards, but didn't seem to be getting anywhere.

"I think we're lost" said Ryu.

"I've been thinking that for at least two hours now" said Sori.

"I've seen that creepy tree with the jackolantern face at least three times now" said Byre.

"If there was just some light, this would be so much easier. We don't even know what we're looking for, except that it's a key" said Sori.

"I can make me way up to the top of them treetops and see if I see anythin'" said Ray. He fluttered up to the top of the forest. Off a ways in the distance was a small clearing with a steep rooftop in it. He came back down. "There's a house over yonder!" he said, and led the way. After a few minutes of walking, they came up to the clearing. The house stood high above them, peering down at them as if it were alive. It was a dark purple color, and extremely tall. Around the clearing there were several dead trees and bushes strewn about.

"Maybe we can ask someone in there for directions" said Sori. She walked up to the door and knocked on it. There was no answer. A few moments passed, when suddenly –

"BWAAAAAAAA!" shrieked a Boo as it appeared behind Sori. She jumped straight up into the air. "Hehehehe" chuckled the Boo. It was a slightly brown color, with slicked back hair and a mustache. It even had a monocle. "What business do you have at Boo Mansion?"

"We're looking for a key" said Ryu. He wasn't afraid of the Boo.

"A key, you say? Well that's not too specific at all, is it?"

"It's a t-treasure key" said Sori. She was still recovering from the scare.

"Oh, I see. You're not the first to inquire about said key" he said menacingly.

"We aren't? Who are you?" said Ryu.

"Who am I? I am none other than Bootler, and I am but a humble servant here. I am the least of your worries, I tell you. If you want to get the key, you'll have to speak with Master. She resides on the top floor of the mansion." He disappeared and reappeared at the door, opening it as it squeaked ominously. "Welcome to Boo Mansion."


	7. Chapter 7 :: Master

Chapter 7 :: Master

Inside was a grand foyer. Two spiral staircases led upwards to a balcony, and another staircase came from the middle of the balcony and up to the third floor. The air was musty and cold.

"Pardon the temperature. We Boos prefer a balmy 55 degrees Fahrenheit" said Bootler. "From here you go alone. I have other...business...to attend to." He gave out a laugh and disappeared.

"That guy gives me the creeps" said Byre.

"You and me both" said Sori.

"Shall we?" said Ryu as he gestured with his arm up one of the spiral staircases. They went up to the balcony. Ryu took a step on the next staircase, but his foot went through it!

"Whoa!" he yelled as he waved his arms trying to get back on the balcony. "What kind of trick is this?" There were several Boos snickering in the shadows. One appeared next to them.

"Seeing Master isn't as easy as walking up a couple flights of stairs. You have to pass a series of tests first, to prove your worthiness of seeing her highness" said the Boo.

"Her?" they all said simultaneously.

"Yes, _her_, why do all visitors do that? There are three tests, and you're about to have your first." The Boo shrieked and disappeared. A nearby door creaked open. Ryu, Sori and Ray made their way to the door as Byre stood back. He raised his finger and opened his mouth to protest, but they were already in the door. Inside the room was a long table, on which was a wide assortment of foods and desserts.

"This is a test? What kind of test is it?" said Byre. His mouth was already watering. The Boo appeared again.

"To prove yourself worthy of seeing Master, you have 5 minutes to eat all of this food."

Sori inquired, "But how does this prove anythi—" Ryu nudged her. _Rule number one, never turn down free food_, he mumbled.

"We Boos have good hearing, by the way. Anyways, this proves your worthiness to Master, because Master could eat this all herself in 5 minutes. Surely the four of you can manage. The time starts now. Good luck. BWAAAAA!"

They all met eyes, and then started eating as fast as possible. There was such a variety of foods, Byre felt badly for not savoring every bite. He wondered who had made all of this and wanted to meet the chef responsible. After several minutes of scarfing down as much food as possible, it was finally all gone.

"I guess we found food on the mainland, huh" said Byre, smiling.

"Yep, just as I planned it" replied Sori. She grinned back at him.

"Times up!" said the Boo. "It looks like you've succeeded in the first challenge. Not many do, so congratulations. You may now make your way to the next room. It's out the hall and on your left. BWAAAAA!"

"If this is what the first test is, I look forward to the next one!" said Byre. They walked into the room and the door slammed behind them. They were in complete darkness and could hear growling.

"Or not."


	8. Chapter 8 :: Challenges

Chapter 8 :: Challenges

"Don't be afraid" said the Boo. Somehow it still felt reassuring coming from a Boo. "Oh, sorry, I'm not consoling you or anything. What I mean is, to pass this challenge, you have to not be afraid. Sorry if you misinterpreted me. Good luck!" He disappeared, and the growling came closer to them. Ryu stood confidently. Sori grabbed his shoulder and tried to stay calm. Byre was huddled up on the ground and was looking back and forth. There were two sources of growling now—one on the left and right.

"Byre! You have to stay calm!" said Sori.

"I c-can't!" he replied. The growling intensified.

"Think about something else, something happy."

Byre thought about the island. He thought about making a giant feast. Everybody was there at the table. He had prepared a fantastic feast for the whole Yoshi tribe, and everybody was loving it. Sori came up to him after the meal and said it was the most fantastic meal she'd ever had. _I love you, Byre_. _I always have. Kiss me_. He leaned in to kiss her.

The growling stopped and the lights came back on.

"We did it! Good job Byre, I knew you had it in you!" said Sori. He looked up, slightly dazed.

"These tests are easy!" boasted Ryu. "Bring it on!"

"Congratulations once again. The final test awaits you in the next room" said the Boo. The next room was just an ordinary room. There was just a large square carpet in the center and some bookshelves along the walls. There were spider webs on a few shelves.

"Your final challenge must be completed individually. Please proceed one at a time into the doorway." One of the bookshelves dematerialized, revealing a staircase going downwards.

"I guess I'll go first" said Ryu.

"No, let me go first" said Byre. He wanted to get it over with before he started to freak out. He made his way down the staircase and into blackness.

"I hope the poor guy is alright down there" said Ray.

"Me too. What's taking so long?" said Sori. The Boo appeared.

"Next." Ray made his way down the staircase. A minute later, the Boo appeared again.

"Next." Sori went down the staircase, and a couple of minutes later, the Boo appeared again.

"Next." Ryu walked down the staircase. He came into a dimly lit room, with a single lamp hanging from the ceiling in the center. He strode confidently into the light.

"Okay, I'm ready for the test. What is it?" he said. There was nothing. Absolute silence. A chill swept through the air. Then another. They came flying by Ryu very quickly. He couldn't tell what was going on. _Whoosh. _He turned his head as another flew by him. He had goosebumps all over. The chills started to make noises now. They sounded like whispered laughs, but also cries. Now they were constantly screaming by from all directions, and Ryu was extremely scared. The last test was nothing compared to this, Ryu thought. One of the chills came up underneath him and lifted him.

"Ahhhh!" he screamed, flailing about wildly in the air. He fell to the ground and slid a little ways and scrambled to get up again. The light in the center flickered off, and there was silence again. Ryu tried to compose himself. _This never happens_, Ryu thought. _Why am I scared of a few ghosts?_ Another staircase became illuminated, and Ryu made his way towards it.

"BWAAAAA!" shrieked a Boo as it appeared right in front of him. Ryu shrieked in fear, louder than the Boo. He got up again, and headed towards the staircase, running this time. He came up to the first room they were in, panting. Everyone was waiting for him.

"What took you so long?" said Sori. "You look like you've seen a ghost! Oh, wait...I guess we're in a mansion full of Boos, so that's entirely possible isn't it."

"How...did Byre get through that?" he said.

"Oh, the tests were different for each of us" said Sori. "Ray had to build something, Byre had to cook something, and I had to answer some riddle. It was all actually pretty easy. What did you have to do?" He composed himself.

"Nothing. I just went in there and sat around for a bit and the staircase appeared again." There was no way he was going to admit he was scared.

"Neat-o. Let's go see the Master!"

"Just '_Master_', no '_the'. _If you enjoy living, you won't make that mistake around her" said the Boo as it reappeared again. They made their way up the second staircase and to the third floor. The ground was very far away now, and the railing was missing in a few places. At the second balcony was a single doorway. They entered into an alcove, with the moonlight shining in from the clouds above. Hovering at the other end was Bootler and Master Lady Bow.


	9. Chapter 9 :: Lady Bow

Chapter 9 :: Lady Bow

"Good midnight to you" said Bootler. "I'm pleasantly surprised to see you've made it up here, and in one piece."

"Yes, as am I" said Lady Bow. She was a pale green color, and had a pink bow on her head. She held a fan in one of her hands and fanned her face with it. "Now, Bootler has told me you desire a treasure key, is that right?"

"Yes Ma'am" said Sori.

"Yes, MASTER!" she yelled. Everybody jumped up a little. "Oh, please excuse my poor temper. I don't get guests very often." She fanned her face again. Sori rolled her eyes a little bit. "That key is very important to me. It's been a family heirloom for centuries, and it's been said that only someone who is worthy can have it."

"We're worthy, right? We passed all of your tests" said Ryu.

"Yes, you are!" said Lady Bow with a smile, but it turned into a frown. "But...well, I don't have it."

"What? We went through all of that, and you don't even have the key?" said Sori.

"I'm afraid not. It was hidden somewhere around here, and there's this riddle that's been passed down from generation to generation. I've never been able to solve it." She looked down at the ground and fanned her face again. "BOOTLER!" she yelled.

"Yes, Master"

"Retrieve the riddle"

"Yes, Master. Right away." He disappeared. Everybody stood quietly for a moment. There was a faint, single cricket noise. Bootler reappeared.

"Here you are, Master" he said as he handed her a crumpled up old piece of paper.

"Ahem, here it is" said Lady Bow.

_Hidden treasure, hidden key_

_Found where one doesn't often see_

_Filled with thoughts and things of old_

_Covered with dust and dirt and mold_

"_More_ riddles..." said Ryu.

"Found were one doesn't often see..." said Sori.

"Filled with thoughts and things of old" said Byre.

"Covered with dust and dirt and mold" said Ray. They all sat there wondering for a few minutes about where the key was hidden.

"Well, I do thank you for trying. You're the first who managed to make it up here, if that's any consolation!" said Lady Bow, cheerfully. She seemed to like them. "But I'd feel bad if I didn't give you anything for you efforts. Bootler, go up to the attic and retrieve some medals for them."

"Yes, Master" he said before he disappeared.

"...attic. Attic. ATTIC!" yelled Sori. Byre and Ryu both gave her a strange look and then exchanged glances. "That's the answer! You hardly ever see the inside of an attic, and they're always filled with a bunch of old, gross stuff!" She was very excited. Bootler returned with the medals.

"Bootler, go back to the attic"

"But I just got h—"

"That's where the key is!" said Lady Bow with excitement. "Never mind, I'll find it myself" She disappeared. Bootler hovered awkwardly with the medals as they stared at each other.

"Beautiful night, isn't it" he said.

"Yup" replied Ryu. Another faint cricket sounded. Lady Bow reappeared.

"I found it!" she said, exaggerating the words. The key was extremely dusty. Some mold was even stuck to it.

"You'll have to blow this dust off. I guess that's why we never saw it" said Lady Bow. She handed the key to Sori. She blew off the dust, and the key sparkled like starlight.

"Wow! It's so beautiful!" said Sori.

"I'll allow you to stay for tonight. Being out in Forever Forest at this hour would not be safe" said Lady Bow. "Bootler, show these folk their rooms."

"Yes, Master." He showed them all to their rooms, and each one was out in minutes. The next morning, they woke up bright and early. The forest was slightly less dark.

"We should probably get going" said Sori.

"Thank you for stopping by! You're welcome to come again any time to Boo Mansion. We can have tea! Or play games!" said Lady Bow. She didn't want them to go.

"Thanks!" said Sori as they walked back towards the staircase to leave the mansion. Lady Bow fanned her face again, hiding it. As they came to the ground floor entrance, Bootler appeared.

"My greatest thanks to you for coming" he said. "But be careful out there in the forest. You never know what could be around the corner." He faded slowly away into the air.

"Let's get out of here" said Ryu. They made their way back into the trees.

"BWAAAA!" shrieked Bootler, and they all jumped.


	10. Chapter 10 :: Camp

Chapter 10 :: Camp

Having obtained the first of three keys they were feeling pretty good, after managing to get out of the forest once again of course. Nobody was happier than Byre than the moment they got out of there. To the east was the desert where the next key would be located, and that's where they were heading.

"One key down, two to go!" said Ryu. "Who knows what we'll see next!" There was a bounce in his step, and Sori couldn't help but admire his enthusiasm. He was never like this back on the island. Sometimes close, but never this much. There just wasn't enough to the island for him to be content. He was always trying to outdo himself, putting himself in harm's way just for a sense of adventure – a rush. Sori was like that too, and it's why she was fond of Ryu, but she knew her limits. She knew her limits very well. She was the middle ground between Byre and Ryu – the glue that brought them all together.

The gloomy darkness of the forest faded, and the morning sun shone brightly into their eyes. As their gaze moved towards the horizon, the green grass faded to brown, and then there was sand as far as the eye could see. They could see the desert and its few dead bushes and cacti strewn about. Heat waves radiated upwards and made the ground look wavy.

"We should get some water before we go too far into the desert" said Sori.

"Agreed" replied Ryu. "It looks like there's a camp a ways over there. Maybe they'll let us get some." The camp had several brown tents arranged around in a circle with a fire pit in the center. Some of the tents were bleached white from the heat, and what seemed to be a well was a little ways further. They strode into the center of the camp.

"Hello? Is anybody here?" called Sori. There was no response. "Hello? We just need some water." They waited a few moments. There was still no response.

"Well, if nobody is here, let's just take some then" said Ryu. Nobody protested. They were all very dehydrated. Suddenly, something red sped by them, brushing past Byre.

"What was that?" he said, but before anyone could respond, another came speeding by Sori. Another, by Ryu, and then Ray. They were all entirely confused and looking about wildly. From one of the tents they could hear some angry, fast voices. Then, a bandit came emerged from the entrance to the tent. Its cloak was red, although the color was slightly washed away by the sand. It looked angry despite the fact it was wearing a pure white mask that covered its entire face.

"What's wrong with ya, punks? Where's your stinkin' coins?" he yelled. He had a distinct accent, and it sounded like he spoke only through his nose.

"We don't have any" said Sori, empathetically.

"I find that hard to believe. The name's Andy. Andy the Bandit. Nice to beat 'cha. Adventurers like yourselves must be _loaded_, so fork 'em over or we'll make you pay!" Several other red bandits came from out of the tent and stood behind what one could only assume was their pack leader, with their arms crossed.

"Buzz off! We don't have anything!" said Ryu. The bandits crept forward, and suddenly took off running, kicking sand up beneath them. _Holy Shrooms they're fast, _thought Ryu. They circled the group before anyone could move, and started throwing punches. It was an all-out brawl, and sand was being kicked up everywhere. In the midst of the veil of sand, a couple of the bandits grabbed Ray and took off. And with that, it was over as quickly as it began. The rest of the bandits sped off, mumbling obscenities about not finding any coins.

"Is everyone okay?" said Sori, breathing heavily.

"I'm good" said Ryu.

"A bit beat up, but yeah" said Byre. "Ray?" There wasn't any response. "Where is Ray?" Suddenly, Sori realized what had happened, and checked she still had the key. _Oh no_, she thought. "Where's the key?"


	11. Chapter 11 :: Deserted

Chapter 11 :: Deserted

"This is not good, not good at all" said Byre, panicking. He had lost his best friend to a pack of bandits, and in the middle of a giant desert.

"Did anyone see where they took him?" said Ryu. He looked around, but saw no trace of movement. "Those guys are so fast, I don't see anything out there."

"No, I didn't. And they took the key too" said Sori. She couldn't understand why they would take Ray. Other than the key, nothing they had should have been of any value to the bandits. "What could they want with Ray?"

"Beats me. Unless there was something he hadn't told us about. I still have the map, so apparently that wasn't of any use to them" said Ryu.

"Or they just thought it was old crumpled paper. They just took what they could and ran off! What jerks!" said Sori. She was furious now. Byre seemed in deep thought.

"There's no sense in waiting here. Let's continue east like the map shows. There's nothing else out here except this camp and wherever we're going, so I'd be willing to bet Ray and our key is there" said Byre. Sori looked at him, puzzled. Normally after an event like they'd just experienced, he wouldn't be so well put together. Instead, he was confident and determined.

"I completely agree" said Sori. "Let's go!" So they continued onwards at a faster pace in hopes of catching up to the bandits, but they all knew that wasn't very likely. Several hours passed, and the sun laid heavy on their backs.

"I think I'm going to get shellburnt" said Byre, rubbing his back.

"I'm already shellburnt" said Ryu, lifting up his shell to show the difference between his skin under and around his shell.

"Ouch" said Sori with a small chuckle.

"You don't seem burnt at all! What's with that?" said Ryu.

"Haha, well I threw some sand around up there and that's seeming to do the trick" she replied.

"I thought you'd just tripped over a dune!" he said, laughing. They all laughed until they started coughing. That hadn't had any water since leaving Boo Mansion this morning, and now it was starting to get to them. They were standing up on top of a dune, overlooking the desert.

"Hey, what's that place up ahead? It looks green!"

"It's not real, Byre. I've seen at least three mirages now" said Sori.

"I haven't seen any mirages yet. No, this one is definitely real!" he said excitedly, running towards it. It wasn't until he was close that Sori and Ryu also realized that it was indeed real. They took off running down the dune, tripping half of the way down.

Byre came crashing into the oasis and up to a small lake in the center, with Sori and Ryu following shortly after. They drank, and drank and drank some more. Scattered around the oasis were several bright, green trees. There were lemons, limes, and other assortments of fruits in them.

"This is great!" said Sori, with a lemon in her mouth.

"Cannonball!" yelled Ryu as he jumped from a tree and into the lake, splashing the other two. The slightly less warm water felt good on their skin. It was a long day and nothing seemed to be going right, so it was nice to finally be able to relax. They didn't want to leave, but knew they had to get going eventually.

Byre was laying against a tree, thinking about life. He saw Sori and Ryu playing in the water, splashing each other. They looked so happy. _Why doesn't she like me the way she likes him_, he thought. But he knew the answer already. What Byre severely lacked, Ryu had abundance of. For so long he'd been jealous of him. But he was his friend, and he couldn't hate him for something so trivial. _I'm just not good enough for her_, he thought. He knew, and it made him angry. His fists clenched slightly, squeezing the sand in between his fingers. He released his grip – how could he think about this when his best friend was nabbed by some stupid bandits? Byre felt disgust in himself now, and let himself enjoy the oasis for a few minutes.

"We need to go now, guys" said Ryu. "We're close to something, I can feel it."

"Okay, let's go" said Byre. So, they left the oasis and continued searching for Ray and their lost key.


	12. Chapter 12 :: Dry, Dry Outpost

Chapter 12 :: Dry, Dry Outpost

After just a couple more hours, they finally came up to an old outpost. Inside the crumbling sandstone walls, they found a wild assortment of interesting folk. Amazingly, despite it being located in the middle of a desert, the outpost was quite busy. Toads and mice with turbans wrapped around their heads walked around the sandy streets of the town, seemingly all going somewhere important.

"So...where do we look first?" said Sori.

"Anywhere I suppose. Let's ask around and see what people know about the bandits" said Byre. They walked into the nearest building. Inside was a tavern of sorts, with several tables scattered around the floor. The atmosphere of the room was dark and musty and it was quite busy. Everyone was talking just above a slight murmur.

"I'll have one Tasty Tonic, please" said a stranger at the bar. He was talking to the bartender, a larger toad with a thick mustache.

"We're out of Tasty Tonics. How about a Super Soda?" he replied.

"Out of Tasty Tonics?" He raised his voice. "What kind of establishment doesn't have Tasty Tonics? I demand a Tasty Tonic!" The stranger grabbed a glass on the table and threw it on the ground. It shattered and the room got deafly silent. Immediately, two burly security toads grabbed the man by his shoulders and dragged him out, right past the yoshis. They watched in awe with mouths agape, and turned their hands as he went by and the stranger was thrown out into the sandy street. He brushed himself off, muttered something and left. Moments later, people started talking again as if nothing had happened.

"I don't think this is my kind of place" said Byre.

"I'll ask the bartender what he knows about the bandits" said Ryu. Byre and Sori took a seat at the nearest table. In a crowd of sunburnt, turban-wearing strangers, they stood out like two sore thumbs.

"You seem to be taking all of this stress fairly well, Byre" said Sori, with a smile. Byre was taken aback.

"Th-thanks" he replied. "You too. I guess after everything we've been through so far, I'm getting used to it."

"So you're saying you've gotten used to running from volcanic eruptions, getting lost in the forest, being scared by Boos, and getting robbed by bandits?" she replied with another grin. Byre smiled as well.

"Don't forget the blooper. And no, not in the slightest. Have you?"

"Not at all." There was a pause in their conversation.

"I'm glad I came, though" he said to her.

"I'm glad you came too." She caught herself, for a moment, thinking about Byre the way she did about Ryu. His usually timid and shy face was now a bit more resolute. His eyes weren't shifty or nervous. They were big, and fearless. Maybe it was the dim lighting of the tavern, but she could have sworn he looked like someone else.

At the bar, Ryu was talking to the bartender. "What'll you have, stranger" said the bartender.

"What do you know about Andy the Bandit?" said Ryu.

"Andy? Oh, I knows plenty 'bout him. That dirty rat. He came in 'ere yesterday talking about some treasure he was gonna find. Said he stole an ancient stone tablet of sorts from a...whaddya call them guys who dig up stuff?" said the bartender.

"Archaeologist?" replied Ryu.

"Yeh, one a them. Heard he and 'is buds mumblin' something about Ravens too."

"Ravens? What about Ravens did you hear him say?"

"Don't know. My hearins not the best, ya know. Either that 'er I had one too many Tasty Tonics that night."

"Alright. Thanks for the info" said Ryu. He walked back to the table to tell Byre and Sori what learned.

"I guess we know why they took Ray then" said Byre. He seemed more worried now.

"I guess so. But did he have anything else to say about the tablet?" said Sori.

"No, that was it. We still have no idea where to go." replied Ryu. So they left the tavern and went back onto the street with nowhere to go when suddenly, they saw a bandit run past a stranger, take his coins, and into a back alley.

"Quick! Don't lose him!" said Sori. They ran into the alley after the bandit. He looked back and saw them and ran faster, but he came up to a dead end with the yoshis right behind him.

"Wrong turn, buddy" said Ryu.

"What do you want with me?" said the bandit.

"Where can we find Andy?" demanded Byre. His voice was surprisingly strong.

"Andy? He lives out in the desert with his gang. I don't know him personally – just through the legends. The guy is tough. I heard one time he tried to rob a guy, and four others backed him up, so Andy robbed all five of 'em."

"You don't know where he is now?" said Sori.

"Well, I heard he was after some treasure he found on an ancient Raven tablet he nabbed off a guy. He needed a Raven to translate or something. Heh, good luck on finding a Raven around here. He'll never find one." The group exchanged glances.

"Thanks for your time, you've been a great help!" said Sori.

"Um, yeah, no problem" replied the bandit as he scurried off into the shadows and the yoshis made their way back to the main street.


	13. Chapter 13 :: Thoughts

Chapter 13 :: Thoughts

"So, it's great that we know why Andy took Ray now, but we still have no clue where he is" said Byre.

"Well, we didn't bother to check the camp after they robbed us" said Sori. She rubbed her nose in thought. "We saw a couple run off into the desert, but...that could have been a diversion" The others nodded in agreement.

"That's our best bet" said Byre.

"Let's head back out there now then" said Ryu.

"Whoa, whoa. Wait – we should get better equipped first. We're low on food, and we don't have any sort of healing items. Let's check the item store before we go anywhere" said Sori.

"Slight problem with that...we don't have any coins" said Byre.

"Well...actually we do" said Ryu, grinning. "I took the liberty of pickpocketing a handful from the bandit we just saw a few moments ago. Sori and Byre looked shocked.

"That works!" said Sori. Down the street a ways was the familiar fireflower item shop sign. They walked in down the steps and a bell rang as they opened the door. A mouse wearing a dusty turban greeted them.

"Welcome to my item shop. How may I serve you?" he said.

"What sort of healing items do you have?" asked Sori.

"Oh, I have plenty of those! Dried Mushrooms, Mushrooms, Super Shrooms, Hot Shrooms, Shroom Steaks and Spicy Soup. The soup is my own recipe!"

"I miss fruits..." said Ryu.

"We'll take one of each!" Sori said cheerfully, and handed over the coins.

"Anything else you'd like?" said the shopkeeper.

"Do you have any weapons?" asked Sori. Byre and Ryu looked at each other in surprise.

"Weapons?" said Ryu. "You really think we need _weapons?"_

_ "_Absolutely! We're going up against a pack of bandits in the desert!" she replied. They didn't argue. She was absolutely right.

"We have a few weapons for sale – a couple of Dusty Hammers, and one pebble!" said the shopkeeper. He seemed impressed with his stock. Apparently weapons were hard to come by in the outpost.

"So much for that" said Ryu. "We'll take the dusty hammers I guess. Hopefully they'll hold up for at least a little while."

"And the pebble" said Byre. "Why not?" he shrugged and paid the shopkeeper for the pebble.

And with that, just as soon as they had gotten out of the desert and into the outpost, they were leaving again. The journey back to the bandit camp would take a few hours, and they all had plenty of time to think. The boring landscape didn't do much to help with conversation.

They walked in a line with Ryu in front, Sori in the middle and Byre in the back. It would have probably caused a double-take from someone watching them go by – three bright, colorful yoshis walking in the middle of the desert. If there was anything as far from home a yoshi could be, it was in the desert. Byre was starting to miss home now. The island was nice and warm, with nothing in the world to worry about. Here, things were the polar opposite. He was way out of his comfort zone, at least, he was before he started getting used to it. For his entire life he was sheltered from the outside world. They _all_ were. Yoshis didn't leave the island and until now, it made complete sense to as why they didn't. But it didn't make sense to him anymore. Getting off of the island was actually the best thing that could have ever happened to him. He began to see himself with confidence. He began to feel like he could do anything. He began to feel like Ryu.

Sori was conflicted. She felt like Ryu cared for her, but nothing ever happened. The only thing he ever conveyed to her was friendship. Nothing he did was ever more than that. He didn't ever seem interested in her – just going on adventures. That's what she admired about him – his adventurous spirit. His seemingly limitless courage and strength. _Is that all I really like about him, _she questioned herself. _Isn't there anything else?_ She couldn't think of anything – just the things she didn't like. He was courageous, but stupid. He was strong, but not emotionally. Everything was a joke to him. He couldn't take anything seriously. In the middle of the desert, watching him walk right in front of her, she realized the hollowness of her love for him. Could she even call it love? She felt sad at this realization – sad of all this time she'd thought she loved him. She felt a teardrop coming but there was nothing. The dryness of the air wouldn't allow it.

Author's Note :

So what do you (few, possibly none) readers think of the whole love subplot of this story? More like a co-plot at this point, actually. I really enjoy writing their thoughts. See if you can guess which character I'm putting my own feelings into the most, haha.

On another side note, what do you think of the story so far? The previous chapters, in my opinion, are getting much better than the first handful. If you've actually read this far, please leave a review or comment!


	14. Chapter 14 :: Battle

Chapter 14 :: Battle

It took considerably less time to find the camp again because they had a better idea of where they were going. It was still approaching nighttime as they neared the camp, and the shadows cast by the dunes were extending far out onto the landscape. The sun was setting, and soon it would be getting much colder.

"There's the camp up there" said Ryu. "It looks like they have a campfire going. Wherever they're going with Ray, they haven't left yet."

"Good. You guys ready for this?" said Sori, taking out her Dusty Hammer.

"As ready as I'll ever be" said Byre as he took out the pebble he bought.

"Alright. Let's sneak in behind this tent over here" said Ryu. They crept behind one of the tents on the outside perimeter. In the center of the camp sitting around the fire were all of the bandits. They were talking with quiet whispers. They could see Andy in the center. He had the tablet in his hands.

"Alright gang, tonight's the night. We finally got a translator for this stinkin' tablet, so let's see what it says about the legendary treasure!" said Andy. "Get over here, stupid Raven" he said as he brought Ray into the center of the group. His wings were tied up together so he couldn't fly away. Andy shoved the tablet in front of him. "Translate it."

"I can't read it" said Ray.

"TRANSLATE." Andy was getting irritated now.

"I told ya, I can't read this. It's not Ancient Raven!" he responded.

"Then _what_ is it? Ancient Goombalian? Koopalite? Booish? It's got to be somethin!" yelled Andy.

"Actually, I think it may _be _Ancient Koopalite" said a random bandit. "Makes more sense, really. Ravens never even lived in the desert. Everyone knows they're native to LavaLava island!"

"Yeh, I think he might be right. I 'ad a buddy in college who studied ancient languages or somethin' like that" said another bandit.

"Yeah, yeah" agreed another. "Eh, maybe we should just let the bird go, huh boss? He aint done nothin' wrong."

"SHUT UP" demanded Andy. "If this isn't Ancient Raven, then why did ya have this key with you, huh?" he said as he pulled out the shimmering key. The light from the fire danced on the key. "A key likes this has gotta go to somethin' good" said Andy. He grinned, but it was full of hatred.

"Psst, we should make our move now before things get ugly" whispered Sori.

"Okay, but things are going to get ugly regardless..." said Ryu. They ran into the center of the camp with hammers blazing, straight towards the bandits.

"What the –"said Andy as he turned around to squarely meet the head of Ryu's hammer. "Ooof!" He flew backwards and slid a few feet in the sand. He was out cold. Sori followed Ryu, doing the same to another Bandit. By this time, the others had enough time to react and fight back. Two bandits ran up to Ryu and started throwing jabs back and forth. He was swinging his hammer wildly, but kept missing.

"They're too fast!" yelled Ryu. "Ooof!" He was hit by another jab. Byre threw his pebble at one of the bandits attacking Ryu. He threw it with a lot of strength, and it hit him pretty hard. He was knocked out cold.

"I guess that actually works pretty well!" said Byre. Now there were only a few bandits able to fight left.

"These guys aint worth it" said one of the bandits.

"Yeah, I'm tired a workin' for Andy. The guys a madman" said another.

"See ya, suckers!" both bandits yelled as they took off running into the dark desert. Scattered around the campfire were the bandits they had beaten up, and standing next to the campfire was Ray. They untied the ropes he was in.

"You came back" said Ray.

"Sure did!" said Sori. She leaned on her hammer, and the head broke off, sending her falling into the sand. They all laughed.

"So what does the tablet really say, Ray?" said Byre.

"I really don't know! It isn't Ancient Raven. Your guess is as good as mine." Sori examined the tablet. There were markings on it, but they didn't really look like ancient text. The markings were too spread out to make out any sort of individual words. One of the markings was really wavy, and little stick trees surrounded it. Another marking looked like a town. The markings were small, but the lines were very fine. There was another marking too, and it was just an X, and was northwest of the other two markings. Then, it hit her.


	15. Chapter 15 :: Saying Goodbye

Chapter 15 :: Saying Goodbye

"It's a map!" she exclaimed. "See, this marking down there is the oasis we were at. _This_ marking is the outpost, and this one up here is where we need to go!"

"You're a genius, Sori!" said Ryu. "Quick, grab the key and tablet and let's get out of here before these guys start waking up."

"Let's go!" said Byre.

"Wait..." said Ray. "I can't go."

"Why not?" said Byre, with concern in his voice.

"Being stuck with these bandits...I realized this whole adventuring thing isn't for me."

"Ray—"

"I mean it. I can make it back just fine, don't worry. Ravens have strong wings and big hearts. My instincts will guide me home. I came on this adventure to help _you_, Byre. I wasn't too keen on going in the first place, but I knew you needed to go, so I did too. Now you've changed and become stronger. You don't need me here anymore."

"But you can stay with us, Ray. We can use your help" said Sori.

"Maybe you could, but I've already made up my mind. I wish you the best of luck!"

Byre nodded slowly in agreement. He had changed, and Ray had always been there for him. He knew that Ray did his own thing, and Ravens aren't swayed easily.

"Okay, Ray" said Byre. He stumbled for words. "Well, good luck then."

"You three are the ones who'll need luck" he said with a smile across his beak. He turned around and flew off, his black silhouette covering the full moon, growing smaller and smaller until it faded away into the dark night sky. They stood, watching for a few moments. From now on, it was just the three of them.

"I hate to do this, but we really need to get going" said Ryu. "One of these bandits is going to wake up if we stay much longer."

"I agree" said Byre. "Let's head towards that third marking and find that next key." They made their way out of the camp and headed north towards whatever would lie at the marking.

Back in the camp, Andy awoke to the crackling of the dying campfire. _What happened_, he thought. He saw the other bandits scattered around the campsite, lying down in the sand. Then he remembered seeing the hammer hit him squarely in the face. He winced at just the thought of it and rubbed his bruised nose. _I'll get those stinking yoshis. They'll pay for this!_ The tablet was his biggest chance at finally making it big. After so many years of barely scraping by, pickpocketing travelers just to stay alive, he'd lost it to a few harmless yoshis. They weren't that harmless, he was Andy the Bandit! The toughest bandit the Mushroom Kingdom had ever known. There were _legends_ told about him. Sure, they were exaggerated, but they were legends nonetheless. But the world didn't know the true Andy, or any of the bandits for that matter. Nobody even knew why they wore masks. Heck, some even thought the masks they wore were their _actual face_! Before they knew anything about him, they judged him. A _thief,_ they'd call him. Most "bandits" just got used to the idea early on and adopted it entirely, only feeding the centuries-long prejudice against their kind. There wasn't even a _name_ for their kind, other than _Bandits_. They had no real identity except the one the world had branded them with.

But like all other Bandits, Andy eventually adopted the lifestyle as well. He knew that wherever he went, he'd always be assumed to be a thief, so he might as well be the best one around. He picked himself up and panned his eyes along the horizon. Way off in the distance he could barely make out some movement. _I've found you_.

Author's Note :

A couple more chapters! I sort of just decided to add Andy as another character because I feel like the history of bandits would be an interesting thing to write about. He could be an excellent dynamic character. What do you think about bandits? Why _do_ they always wear masks, anyways?


	16. Chapter 16 :: The Ancient Temple

Chapter 16 :: The Ancient Temple

"You know, I'm getting pretty tired of all this _sand_" said Ryu as he kicked up some sand at the top of a dune. "And it doesn't help that we've been traveling for so long that the _sun is rising now_."

"I think we're almost where the marking is on the map" said Sori. She had her nose buried in the tablet. "Based on that cactus we saw a ways back, and that big boulder over there..." she traced the air with her finger across the landscape. "...the spot should be...right there!" she exclaimed.

"You're pointing at a rock" said Byre, monotonously.

"But according to the map, this is where it should be."

"Still...just a rock" said Ryu. She checked the map again. Then the rock. The rock looked very weathered, but it also oddly rigid. It didn't look completely natural. She expected the other side of the rock and there was a small rectangular hole.

"This hole is very peculiar..." said Sori. Then she realized it was about the same size as the tablet she was holding in her hands. She slid the tablet into the opening, and as soon as it was flush with the rock, it _clicked_ into place.

All of a sudden, there was rumbling. The sky turned pitch black, and clouds began to swirl from above. A storm of sand formed all around them, the sand stinging their skin. The wind began to blow faster and faster until suddenly, right in front of them, a massive sandstone slab began to emerge from the ground. They quickly jumped back. It kept rising, and as it did, sand poured down in rivers from the roof. After a few more seconds, the rumbling came to a gradual stop. Looming high in front of them was a massive sand temple with four pillars in front, each with a chain chomp statue sitting on top. A staircase led up in the center to a large open doorway, with a warm orange light emanating from inside.

"Holy Shroomcakes" said Ryu.

"You could say that again" said Byre.

"This place is _huge_" said Sori. Her words lingered for a bit. "Well, we can stand out here and marvel or we can go in there and find the next key!"

"Shall we?" said Byre as he gestured towards the doorway.

"We shall" replied Sori, and so they walked into the temple. The moment they took the first step into the temple, a voice echoed from all directions.

"OoOoOoOoOooo! I am the huge, scary Tutankoopa! Remorseless king of the desert! Who dares set foot in this, my palace of the sands? Speak and be known!"

Ryu spoke up. "I am Ryu, and I'm here for a great treas—" Sori hit him in the gut before he could say anymore.

"OoOoOoOo! Treasure seekers? Be gone from this place! Now! Or disaster will befall you!" the voice echoed again and gradually faded away. The muffled winds from outside was all they could hear.

"I'm not afraid of some scary voice" said Ryu. "And we're not turning back now. What do you guys say?"

"I agree, we have to go forward" replied Sori. "Byre?"

He hesitated for a moment. "Yeah, let's go." A steep staircase was in front of them, and they began to descend into the depths of the temple. The walls on both sides of them were getting closer and closer, and there were torches burning along the walls now. They reached the bottom, and in front of them were two rows of several pillars built into the walls holding up the ceiling. On the far end of the room was a stone slab that looked like a door, but there was no handle. On the ground were four raised stone pads, each one raised to a slightly different height, and along the walls were several vases of varying size and shape. One of the pillars had some writing inscribed into it.

_Weigh down the pads to advance further_

_But beware, as each pad must be weighed differently_

_On the smallest pad goes the lightest, and the largest the heaviest_

_Do otherwise, and you shall meet your fateful demise_

"Okay, so we just need to weigh down the pads with the vases based on how much they weigh" said Byre. "Seems easy enough!" He went over to the vases along the wall. There were three in total, and some large broken shards of pottery were scattered around.

"Except we're missing one..." said Byre. "How would we know if it was the lightest or heaviest...or somewhere in between?"

"Umm...I have no idea" said Sori. "Let's just think about this for a minute."

"That sounds like a good idea and all, but look at the other wall!" Ryu exclaimed. Spikes came out from holes in the wall and the wall started ever so slowly inching towards them. A giant stone slab fell down in front of the stairway they came down from.

"Okay, okay...maybe this is some sort of test" said Sori, her words were rapid. "Maybe it means something else when it talks about the weight."

"What else could it mean?" said Ryu.

"I don't know!" she said, panicking.

"Well...this pot looks really small, so let's put that one on the smaller pad" said Byre, placing the pot on the pad. The pad slid downwards and clicked into place.

"Okay, that one was right!" said Byre.

"Help me get the big vase" said Ryu. Sori and Byre helped him lift it up and place it on the biggest pad. It slid down and clicked into place.

"Just two more to go" said Byre.

"Except we only have one" said Sori. The wall was approaching closer now, sliding over the smaller pad.

"Well, make a guess!" said Ryu. He took the one remaining vase and set it down on one of the pads. It slid down and clicked into place. The wall overtook the previous pad, knocking over the largest vase. There were only a few feet between each of the walls now, with the last pad in the center.

"Let's hope I'm about the weight of that broken vase!" said Sori, as she jumped onto the last pad. It slid downwards, but didn't stop at the floor. It just kept sliding further and further into the floor, but Ryu and Byre grabbed her arms and held her up so there was less weight on the pad. It raised up and clicked into place. The wall stopped moving, and then went back into its original position. The door on the opposite end of the room swayed open.

"Whew..." said Sori, exhaling deeply. They released her arms, and made their way to the next room.

As Andy came to the top of a huge dune, he saw the temple far below him. _I knew it_, he thought, and made his way to the entrance of the temple and went inside.

"OoOoOoOoOoOo! I am the huge and scary Tutankoopa! The r-"

"Can it, you loon" said Andy.

"But I'm the remorseless king of the desert - I am without remorse! Doesn't that scare you?"

"Not in the slightest"

"Oh. Well, disaster will _still_ befall you! OoOoOoOoO!" the voice echoed in reply as he made his way down the steep staircase. _I will get that treasure before you_, he thought. _And if I don't...you can be sure I'll be the one leaving with it_.


	17. Chapter 17 :: Chomp

Chapter 17 :: Chomp

The doorway led into yet another staircase, going even further into the depths of the temple. The air was getting colder now, and the walls were dark and sandy. They came down into another room, this one much larger, with several pedestals scattered around. The ceiling was dome-shaped, and there was a single opening on the far wall, with a small balcony extending out from it. It was nearly pitch black inside the room, aside from a few torches dimly burning along the walls. Without warning, the entrance behind them completely shut with a loud thud.

"OoOoOoooOoO! I warned you to leave my temple! Now you will meet your fate!" said Tutankoopa. A pair of eyes floated in the darkness from out of the opening and onto the small balcony. He raised his hands up, and the torches around the room flared up intensely. They could see much more clearly around the room now, and on the ground floor on the far end was another opening with bars blocking it off. The bars raised out of the ground and they felt several large thumps growing stronger and stronger until a huge, black chain chomp emerged from the doorway.

"This isn't good..." said Sori.

"You should have thought of that when you decided to enter my temple!" yelled Tutankoopa. "Now prepare to face my wrath! Chompy, get 'em!" The chain chomp lunged forward towards them. Its chain jingled behind it as it moved. It wasn't tied up to anything. Sori lunged to the left, and Ryu and Byre to the right. The chain chomp smacked into the wall, and sand came falling down from the ceiling. It turned around and targeted Byre, who was hiding near a pedestal. He jumped out of the way, just barely avoiding the sharp teeth of the chain chomp.

"Guys, I have an idea!" exclaimed Sori. "Here, chompy chompy!" She waved her arms back and forth. She was standing between two of the other pedestals. The chomp lunged towards her as she jumped out of the way.

"Quick, grab his chain and tie it around one of the pedestals!" Ryu and Byre grabbed the chain and tried to pull it. The chain chomp lunged again, causing both of them to fly up into the air and landing hard onto the sandy floor. Sori taunted the chain chomp again, and Byre and Ryu tried again to grab the chain. This time they were ready, and wrapped it around one of the pedestals. The last link of the chain was broken, so they hooked it up to another link and then ran to the other side of the room with Sori. The chain chomp lunged towards them, but was caught in mid-air and fell to the ground right in front of them. Its mouth opened and closed with ferocity, only inches from their faces. But the chains held tight. The chomp was contained.

"Yes!" said Sori.

"Foolish! Now you've made me angry!" yelled Tutankoopa, from the top of the balcony. He raised his arms again, and floated down to ground level. Before they could react, he sent a barrage of magic at them. Swirling colors and shapes flew through the air right at Byre, causing him to be flung backwards into the wall. He hit it hard, and slid downwards onto the ground. He didn't get up.

"Byre!" yelled Sori. Ryu was making his way towards Tutankoopa. He still had his hammer and smacked him with it as hard as he could, but Tutankoopa deflected the blow. Sori, however, was right behind him and did a ground-pound right on top of him.

"Ooof!" he said, sprawled out on the ground from the blow. Ryu came back now, and made the final blow with his hammer.

"Take that!" he yelled as he hit Tutankoopa. The head of the hammer flew off immediately after, but Tutankoopa was totally knocked out. The door to the staircase reopened. Byre was still laying against the wall and Sori ran over to him.

"Byre? Byre are you alright?"

"Unnggh" he moaned.

"Oh, Byre" she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. Byre opened his eyes to see her eyes looking directly into his.

"I am now" he said, trying to put on a smile. The look on her eyes was pure concern.

"Come on, I'll help you up" she said, giving him her hand and pulling him up. The three made their way into the opening, making sure to keep their distance from the chain chomp on the way there. Inside the small room was an ornate treasure chest.

"Wow. A real treasure chest!" said Ryu. He bent down to open it, and inside was the next key. It was just like the last one, extremely shiny and it shimmered like starlight. Ryu held it up in the dim light, but suddenly, Andy came rushing from behind them and stole it right from his hands.

"Take that, suckers!" he taunted, and started to make his way back up the stairs. Ryu was awestruck.

"Quick! Run after him!" yelled Byre. They sprinted back into the arena. Tutankoopa was still lying unconscious on the ground, but the chain chomp was nowhere to be seen.

"Yikes!" shrieked Andy, from behind one of the pedestals. The chain chomp was loose from his chains now, and was chasing him around. The chain chomp lunged forward towards Andy and hit hard, sending him and the key flying in different directions. The key landed with a soft thud in the center of the arena. Seeing the opportunity, Byre ran towards the key and picked it up.

"I've got the key, let's get out of here!" he said. They ran up the stairs, leaving Andy and the chomp to themselves. The sprinted up both staircases like their lives depended on it, and came up to the top, panting heavily.

Back in the temple, Andy was pinned between the wall and the chain chomp. The exit was on the other side of the room. The chain chomp prepared to lunge towards him, but before he did, Tutankoopa had woken up.

"Back, chompy!" he commanded. The chomp whined, and slowly went back into its cage, the bars closing behind it. "I suppose you're wondering why I just saved you" said Tutankoopa.

"A little bit, yeah" replied Andy as he dusted himself off.

"I have a job for you. I know where those three are going next, and I want you take back the key they stole from me."

"Why should I do that? I was after that treasure as well!"

"I can give you something much more valuable than just that key" said Tutankoopa. "The key by itself isn't of much value at all, but buried around this temple are many other gems and valuables. You can have your fair share if you get that key for me." Andy thought for a moment, and decided that he would do as Tutankoopa said. _For now anyways_, he thought.

"You've got yourself a deal" he replied. "Where are they going next?"

"They're going..." he paused for dramatic effect "...to the skies."


	18. Chapter 18 :: Mysterious Merlon & Merlee

Chapter 18 :: Mysterious Merlon and Merlee

After having finally obtaining the second key, the yoshis were extremely tired. The excitement and terror of the events that had unfolded had taken their toll, so they spent the night at an Inn in Dry, Dry Outpost. There were three beds in a room, and they were talking and relaxing before deciding to sleep.

"Long day, huh" said Ryu. He sprawled out over his bed and stretched.

"Absolutely" said Sori. "I think I could wait a while before heading towards that third key."

"Not too long" replied Ryu. "We'll leave in the morning...maybe a little later."

"But where?" said Byre. "According to the map, the third key is in the sky! How are we going to get there?" There was a moment of thoughtful silence.

"Maybe we can ask around tomorrow morning. There ought to be someone wise who can point us in the right direction" said Sori.

"Oh, I already know what direction to go. Up" said Ryu. He smiled. They all did, and the heaviness of sleep shortly overcame them.

In the morning, they set out to gather information about the skies. After asking around and getting nowhere, they were starting to give up on the idea when all of a sudden, they stumbled upon a large, purple tent hidden away in a back alley.

"Ahh, a trio of travelers I see" said an ominous female voice emanating from within the tent. "The name is Merlee, can I help thee?"

"Uh, hello. Do you know anything about going to the skies?" said Sori.

"You desire the power of flight, that's right? I can show you the way, provided you do as I say" said Merlee.

"Okay..." said Ryu.

"To ascend to the sky, one must first drop by, to the place known as Toad Town, you know the way down. And when you get there, with you I will share, find the man known as Merlon, my magic casting twin. Tell him Merlee sent you, now shoo!" she shooed them away from her tent. "You're wasting my time, and I'm running out of rhyme!"

"Well that was sublime" said Ryu.

"We've got a long ways to Toad Town from here. We'd better get going while the sun is still low in the sky" said Sori.

"We could do that...or we could take the high speed warp pipe transit system right over there" said Byre, pointing to a pipe.

"Oh thank goodness, I've had enough of the desert for one lifetime" she said. They jumped into the pipe one at a time, and ended up in the Toad Town sewers.

"Ew, it is so gross down here. Why do they put these pipes underground?" said Sori.

"Beats me, but I'm amazed that right now, we're underneath the biggest town in the Mushroom Kingdom!" said Byre.

"Yeah, I suppose that's true" said Sori. "Still...really gross."

"Anyways, let's get up there!" said Ryu, excitedly. They went up another pipe and emerged out of the top into the blinding sunlight.

"Wow! It's so colorful here!" said Sori. It really was colorful. They were surrounded by several different colored houses, the grass was a bright green, and the cobblestone streets were a warm brown. It was such a contrast from the dull, sandy houses in the desert. There were toads, goombas, and koopas walking all around, but mostly toads. They walked up to one of them passing by.

"Hi, can you tell us where Merlon is?" asked Ryu.

"Sure thing! He's just up north, in the Town Square" replied the Toad. He tipped his hat and continued on his way.

"Wow, the people here are so nice compared to...well...everywhere else we've been" said Byre. He remembered the Boos, the Bandits and the roughness of the people in the outpost. They went up to the Town Square, and across the road was Merlon's house. The roof spun around and around so fast it looked like it would fly off up into the sky at any moment. They opened the door and walked in.

"Greetings, adventurers! What brings you here today?" said Merlon.

"Merlee sent us. We need to go to the skies, uh, somehow" said Ryu.

Merlon paused for a moment. "Ah, yes, I had foreseen this. To reach the skies is no easy task, are you sure you are up to it?"

"Yes" replied Ryu.

"Then listen carefully. The place you seek is known as Star Haven. It is a sacred place in the sky, where the Star Sprits live. The Star Spirits are very, very important, as they grant the wishes for the inhabitants of our world. Without them, no wish could ever be granted. So tell me, what is _your _wish?"

"We have this map..." said Sori. "And it leads us to the locations of three keys. The keys go to a treasure of sorts, and we have the first two keys already" she said.

"Can I see one of these keys?" Merlon asked. Sori took one out and handed it to him.

"This is very beautiful" said Merlon. "It sparkles like starlight. This key probably originates from Star Haven. Up until now, I had never heard of these keys that you possess. They must be very old." He gave the key back to Sori. "Based on what I've seen so far, you three seem alright enough to go to Star Haven. But, it's no easy task. The road there is not usable, as it is only allowed to be open when there is a great danger present."

"So, how do we get up there then?" said Byre.

"There are other means" replied Merlon. "To the east of Star Haven is a mountain. At the top of that mountain, there is a palace of ice in which there is a hidden room with a star ship. This star ship will allow you to travel to the skies with ease."

"And...we just need to go up there and hop in it? No monsters, puzzles, or anything like that?" said Sori.

"The Ice Palace has been long since uninhabited. There are no obstacles but the elements. It's quite cold, I tell you" He replied. _I have a hard time believing that_, thought Sori.

"There's a warp pipe to a village located at the base of the mountain called Shiver City. You'll find the pipe in the sewers. I wish you good travels, and the best of luck!"

"Thanks!" they replied as they walked out of the door.

"Wait, I should mention one more thing" said Merlon. "There is a legend about the Ice Palace. To find the hidden room, you must first have faith in yourself. Only then will you see the way, or so the legend goes."

"Thanks again for the help, Merlon" replied Sori.

"It's my pleasure." They closed the door and went back outside.

"Well, that guys a loon" said Ryu.

"He may be a bit strange, but it seems like this is our only shot to getting the last key. We should take his words seriously" said Sori. "But for now, we should stay here in Town Town a bit to rest up. What do you guys say?"

"Yes, please" replied Byre.

"We could use some rest. But first, let's take a look around town!" replied Ryu.

* * *

Author's Note : New chapter! We're kind of in an interlude right now, so It's been a little hard to write recently. Does anybody have any suggestions on what they'd like to see happen next before going to Star Haven (or on the way there?). This is quite an opportunity as a reader :) It's not often you get to choose what a story will be about, so if anybody has read this far, now's your chance!

Anyways, thanks to those who have read my story. Any comment or review is much appreciated!

EDIT: Check out the new cover art I made for the story! Pretty neat, huh? (Those with professional photoshop skills, please don't judge haha. Except not photoshop, but GIMP 2)


	19. Chapter 19 :: Towns

Chapter 19 ::Towns

Andy emerged from an ice-covered warp pipe. Penguins strolled through the single road of the little town, along which were several wooden houses with stone siding covering the bottom. Most of them had chimneys with smoke billowing up into the cold air. Several huge, looming pine trees were scattered throughout the town, each one packed full with snow on every branch. _Some city_, Andy thought. _What a misleading name_. A cold breeze blew swiftly into his cloak. _Jeez, this place is horrible. Who would live here?_ _I can't wait for those yoshis to get here, already._ He hadn't thought much about where he'd stay once he got there. He thought briefly about stealing someone's coins to pay for the Inn, but he needed to lay low. He couldn't risk it. He had some money in his pocket already anyways. So, he went into the Inn and purchased a room for the night. It was only noon, but he had nothing else to do.

"I'd like a room" he said to the Innkeeper.

"Certainly! That'll be 5 coins" she replied with much enthusiasm. Andy grumbled and handed her the coins.

"Thanks" he replied with a low, monotonous tone. He slid onto the bed and looked up at the ceiling and sighed. _And now, we wait_. He laid there for hours, just thinking about his life, his childhood memories. The only memories that seemed to remain were the bad ones. He could recall all of them vividly, but one of them stood out much more than the others...

* * *

Andy was walking in Dry, Dry Outpost. Bandits didn't often go there, because the public looked down on their kind. He understood why, but it just wasn't fair. _I've never done anything wrong_, he thought. _It's not fair that I get in trouble because of other people's reputations._ But it was a useless thought. Andy knew that he couldn't change that fact. A couple of toads in turbans eyed him down as he walked by.

"Watch out, there's a bandit. Keep your hands in your pockets or he might nab our coins" said one Toad.

"What's he doing here anyways? His kind isn't welcome here. This is a civilized town!" said the other Toad. Andy just ignored them. _They're so stupid_, he thought. _They don't even know me! I've never even harmed a flea_. He kept walking. He was only in the outpost to meet up with someone, and the sooner he could leave, the better. He turned down an alley, and saw a bandit robbing a Toad.

"Give me yer coins, or I'll tear you up!" yelled the Bandit.

"I-I-I don't have any, I swear!" replied the Toad. The Bandit clenched his fist on the Toad's shirt collar.

"You expect me to believe that sad excuse for a story? Here's your last warning, bub. Cough up the dough, or I'll knead you into oblivion!"

"I don't have any, please, please don't hurt me!" pleaded the Toad.

"_Please?_ I don't know the meaning of the word." The Bandit raised his fist, and threw a punch at the Toad, but Andy grabbed his arm and stopped it.

"What do you think you're doing?" said the Bandit. He let go of the Toad and he ran off.

"The guy said he didn't have any money, so just leave him alone!" said Andy.

"So you think you're some sort of police guy, huh? You're a disgrace to us, and I'll show you who is in charge around here." The Bandit swung his fist at Andy and it hit him on the side of his head, knocking him down.

"Hahaha, what a loser" said the Bandit, when Andy jumped up and tackled him to the ground.

"I am NOT a loser!" he screamed and punched him. And again, and again. The Bandit tried to get up, but Andy just kept throwing punches.

"Okay, okay!" said the Bandit. "Please, just let me go!" Andy stopped his punching, and grinned behind his mask.

"_Please?_ I don't know the meaning of the word." He punched him hard one more time and walked away, leaving the bandit lying knocked out in the middle of the alley. _That'll show him_, he thought. He looked back at the Bandit and thought about helping him up, but the damage was already done. _They're right_, he thought. _I am just like every other Bandit_.

* * *

A cold breeze swept through the chimney and into the Inn. Andy shivered and pulled the covers up over his body. He didn't sleep much that night. The memories of his past haunted his dreams.

* * *

Meanwhile, the yoshis were exploring Toad Town. They had just finished perusing several shops, and were getting quite tired of walking around all day. The sun would be setting in about an hour.

"I'm going to head to the Inn" said Ryu. He yawned.

"We'll see you there a little later" said Sori. They were standing together on the side of the street. "You want to go check out more of the town, Byre?" _There's nothing more I'd rather do_, he thought.

"Yeah, sure!" As they walked around town, the sun slowly began to set and the streetlights came flickering to life. They came to the port of Toad Town and decided to sit down on a bench. In front of them was the vast ocean they had crossed what seemed so long ago. _Somewhere over that horizon is our home_, thought Sori. The sun's orange light reflected on the ripples of the waves, causing it to sparkle. Suddenly, a wave of happiness overcame her. Just like the day back home after the eruption. She was happy to be here in this moment, like when she was with Ryu on top of the world. Except now, she was with Byre. She turned to look over at him. He had his eyes shut and his head leaned back. He looked so at peace. _Byre, at peace_, she thought. He was so much different now. Everything about him had changed – no, not everything. The only thing that had changed was his confidence. He wasn't afraid to take chances anymore. Everything else was exactly the same – his wit, humor, and everything she admired in him was still there. She felt the urge to rest her head against his and watch the rest of the sunset. _Should I? What if he wakes up and wonders what I'm doing?_ _Maybe he won't wake up._ _No, he'll wake up and things will just be awkward_. She shook her head and looked downwards to herself. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about this. It would only complicate finding the keys. _Why do I care so much about finding the keys? This isn't a matter of life and death or anything. If I put my arm around him right now, what's the worst that could happen? _Different scenarios ran quickly through her head. None of them were any good. The sun was fading behind the horizon now and the water no longer sparkled. The darkness of the night swept through the skies and the dim twinkle of starlight could be seen between the clouds. There was a cold breeze in the air, and Byre opened his eyes.

"We should probably get back to the Inn now" he said. "It's starting to get cold."

"Yeah, we should. Let's go" she replied. The moment of her sudden happiness was over. She kept playing it back and back again on the walk to the Inn, and while lying on the bed. After twenty minutes Ryu and Byre were both sleeping, but Sori stayed awake for more than an hour until she told herself she needed to get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a big day. They'd be going to Shiver City. She didn't like the sound of that – Yoshis don't do well in cold climates.

* * *

Author's Note : Long chapter! Well, actually the last few chapters have been longer, so that's great! I said I wanted to write more about Andy, and now I finally have. Opinions? Comments?

"Cough up the dough, or I'll knead you into oblivion" xD I crack myself up sometimes.


	20. Chapter 20 :: Shivers in Shiver City

Chapter 20 :: Shivers in Shiver City

The next morning, they set off to Shiver City, after a big breakfast of course. After aimlessly meandering their way throughout the sewer system, they eventually found the pipe there. It was covered in a solid layer of ice and they entered the warp pipe one by one, emerging into the center of Shiver City. The air was chillingly cold, and it was snowing mildly.

"Brrrrrr" said Sori, shaking. "Let's hurry up, or I'm going to freeze here."

"We'll have to ask someone about getting to the Ice Palace" said Byre. "I'll go into the Inn and ask the Innkeeper. Be right back!" Byre went into the Inn while Ryu and Sori stood under a tree packed full of snow. The branches hung low from all of the weight. The snow was falling harder now, and the air became thick with it.

"So, do you have an idea what the treasure might actually be?" said Sori.

"I was thinking about that. It just said there was a treasure – nothing about the details. But it shouldn't matter. All treasure is good, right?"

"I...guess so. But Merlon said the keys were _really_ old didn't he? And one of them is in Star Haven! This is getting to be more and more serious. What _could_ the treasure be?"

"Beats me. But hey, if there's anyone who can figure it out, it's you" said Ryu. Sori smiled.

"Thanks. Oh hey, there comes Byre." He awkwardly trudged his feet through the snow over to them.

"Okay, I know how to get to the Ice Palace. Up ahead on that trail are several snowmen. We just need to put a bucket on the one with the missing hat, and it will open the way" said Byre.

"Really?" said Sori. "It's that easy?"

"Apparently. I'm surprised she gave away such a secret, but hey, I'm not complaining. She even gave us a bucket."

"Let's be on our way then" said Ryu. "The path is right over here." But suddenly, a red blur came from out behind one of the houses, and snatched the bucket right from Byre's hands.

"Hahaha, thanks for telling me all about how to get to the Ice Palace!" taunted Andy.

"Andy? What the—" said Ryu.

"Surprised to see me here? Well, stay surprised. I'm going to get that key, and I'd love to see you try to keep up!" He sped off down the path, leaving a flurry of snow trailing behind him. They ran after him immediately but it was no use. Bandits could run extremely fast and it wasn't long before he was completely lost from their view.

"We can't catch him!" said Ryu, panting.

"We just need to get to where the snowmen are before he has a chance to cover his tracks" said Sori. "Keep running!" They ran for a few more minutes, and were coming up over a hill when suddenly, they saw Andy. He looked like he was in trouble. Three Ice Piranhas had him cornered against a wall and were moving in slowly, snapping their jaws. He saw the yoshis looking down at him. _Crud_, he thought. _How am I going to get out of this?_ The yoshis stood and watched for a moment as the Ice Piranhas inched in closer to Andy.

"...should we help him?" said Sori.

"Why? He's getting what he deserves" said Ryu.

"I know, but, it just doesn't feel right." She paused. "I'm going to help."

"Me too" said Byre. Ryu watched them run down the hill.

"_Sigh_, I guess that means I am as well" he said, and ran down after them. As they ran down towards the Ice Piranhas, they turned their huge heads towards the yoshis. Their teeth were an awful yellow color, and their breath was icy and putrid at the same time. It burned as it wafted up their noses. One snapped its jaws at Sori, narrowly missing her before she jumped up and ground pounded it. Byre came down next, and did the same, but the Ice Piranha looked up and he landed on its teeth.

"Ouch!" he yelped, and tumbled into a snow drift. The Ice Piranha moved towards Byre, but Ryu came barreling down the hill, slamming straight into the Ice Piranha and knocking it over, sending them both tumbling to the ground. It straightened out its body and shrunk back into the ground.

"Two left" said Sori. They battled the remaining Ice Piranhas, and Andy slipped quitely out of the brawl, unnoticed. _Suckers_, he thought. _This is easier than I thought it would be_. He disappeared into the trees. Shortly later, the two remaining Ice Piranhas had retreated.

"Whew! Nice job, guys" said Sori. "We're getting better at this." She looked around for Andy. "...where is Andy?"

"He probably slunk off" said Ryu. "What a jerk. Come on, let's go. He can't have gotten far." They continued on the path, and up ahead were the snowmen. Like the Innkeeper said, one was missing its hat. That is, until Andy came into view and put the hat on. A giant ice door slowly opened up between the snowmen and as soon as it was fully open, he grabbed the bucket and ran inside the opening before the doors could shut again.

"No! That was our only way of getting in!" said Ryu. "We were too late."

"Not necessarily" said Byre. He went up to the snowman with the missing hat. There were indentations where the hat was sitting.

"We just need to make it _seem_ like it's wearing a hat." He pushed down on the ice around where the hat was, and the door started to open.

"Well that was incredibly convenient" said Ryu.

"Yes! Quick, get inside!" said Byre. Sori and Ryu ran inside. Byre came in immediately after. The doors shut with a loud _thud_ that echoed throughout the icy halls. Off to the side was the bucket that Andy had stolen. Byre picked it up and brought it with them. They walked through the narrow hallway, with each and every footstep echoing through the hall. Everything was completely made by ice and snow. Up ahead was a branch in the hallway.

"Which way should we go?" said Sori.

"We could split up" said Ryu. "...or actually, that's probably not the best idea. Let's just go with left and see where it takes us." So they went left, and eventually they came into a larger room with a very shiny ice floor. It perfectly mirrored the walls and ceiling, and from the ceiling there hung an incredibly elaborate ice chandelier that sparkled light all around the room. Around the rest of the ceiling were hundreds of small, sharp icicles. High up on the far wall was a square opening.

"How are we supposed to get up there?" said Ryu, pointing to the opening. "I don't see any other place to go."

"Maybe there's something along the walls" said Sori, as she slid her hands along them.

"There doesn't seem to be anything, _anywhere_" said Byre.

"Hmm...what did Merlon say to us before we left?" said Sori.

"Something about having faith in ourselves" replied Byre. Sori looked down at her reflection in the ground. Except there wasn't a reflection at all.

"What the..." she said. "I don't have a reflection!" Ryu and Byre looked down as well and saw the same.

"This isn't a mirror!" she exclaimed. _How thick is this ice, _she thought. "Byre, try breaking the ice with the bucket over there by the opening in the wall." He took the bucket and slammed it down on the ice. It cracked through, and after a couple more hits, the opening was big enough to fit through.

"It's a ways down, but we can flutterjump before the opening and make it through" said Ryu. "I'll go first." He peered down into the opening. It was about six feet down, but he was sure he could do it. On the ground were the mirrored icicles and chandelier. The upside-down chandelier was quite impressive, but wasn't really what he had on his mind at the moment.

"Here I go!" He jumped down and flutter-jumped flawlessly into the opening. "Okay, who's next?"

"I'll go" said Byre. He did the same and landed on the edge of the opening, but made it in.

"Alright, I'm coming down" said Sori. She jumped into the opening, but her flutter-jump was too late.


	21. Chapter 21 :: Ice Guy

Chapter 21 :: Ice Guy

She frantically clasped the bottom of the opening with her hands but it was too slick to hold onto. For a brief moment, she looked down below her to see the extremely pointed icicles growing larger and larger as she moved down further. It all seemed to be happening so fast, but nothing ran through her mind. Ryu and Byre stood in awe for the moment she passed by the opening. Time seemed to be moving extremely slowly now, and she saw Byre's yellow arm extending out towards her. His face was stone cold, but his eyes were widened with fear. She heard him yell her name and its eerie echo throughout the room. She raised her arm up to meet his, and clasped onto it for her life. As she slammed into the wall, time started going at normal speed again.

"Oh, thank goodness" he said with a relieved sigh.

"That was way too close" said Ryu, and he helped Byre pull up Sori into the opening.

"I don't know what happened" said Sori. "I just...I—"

"It's alright" said Byre. "You're alright, and that's what matters." The adrenaline of the near-death experience was wearing off, and she felt an immense wave of warmth after he said that.

"Thanks" she replied, blushing a bit as she wiped some snow off of herself. They continued walking, and the hallway grew wider and wider as they did. It also climbed higher and higher in several different stairways that spiraled up from within the mountain. Everything was quite ornate and all completely made in ice.

"This place really is a palace" said Byre.

"Yeah. Why is it here though? Does anybody even live here?" said Ryu.

"Maybe they did long ago. Merlon said there was a room with a star ship in it. That's got to be pretty ancient right?" said Sori.

"I just hope nobody lives here anymore..." said Byre. Up ahead was another large room, but it was completely empty. There were no reflective walls, openings, or anything. Just a completely white, icy room.

"Okay, so what's the gimmick with this room?" said Ryu.

"Beats me" said Sori. "Maybe we should have taken the other path back where it split off?"

"I hope not" said Byre. "There's no way we could jump back up through the floor in that last room." They all started wondering if they were trapped.

"Okay, okay, no need to get nervous here" said Sori. "Maybe what Merlon said still applies. Maybe we need to have faith in ourselves..._again_."

"Oh, that was an analogy with the reflection thing earlier? I completely missed that" said Ryu.

"Faith in ourselves...faith in ourselves" muttered Byre. He thought about himself, what he lacked faith in. _I lack faith in myself in general_, he thought. _No, that's not true. Not as much now than before._ He thought about Sori again, how he wished he could just bring himself to tell her how he felt. But like always, it was a battle against himself. No matter how hard he tried, he'd end up shutting himself down before even giving her the chance. It was easier that way. No complications. No heartbreak. Everything stayed within his mind. The impenetrable fortress, at least in regards to his true, deep emotions.

Ryu thought similarly about what he lacked faith in. He couldn't think of anything. _I'm confident, I'm in control, and I know what I'm doing._ Then he thought about what he had just thought. He knew he wasn't humble. He knew that he wasn't super bright. Those things never really mattered to him much, so it never had really occurred to him. He remembered the challenges in Boo Mansion, where he was so scared. He never told the others, because he was embarrassed by his lack of control. He felt shame for not being able to tell them that.

Sori knew exactly what she lacked faith in. She lacked faith in her judgment, her ability to assess a situation. Too often her emotions got in the way of something and clouded her ability to make the right decisions. In a pinch, she was smart enough to pull through but not always. She thought back to the eruption, the blooper, and when Byre was knocked out by the chain chomp. All of those times, she was too scared to do much of anything. She would never show it, though. Like Byre, she was a master of disguising her inner emotions.

Suddenly, they heard a loud boom, and the floor began to tilt to one direction. "What's going on?" said Byre, stumbling to keep his balance as the floor tilted further.

"Get to the door!" said Ryu. They scrambled to get back to the door, but it was too late. They tumbled down under the tilted floor and into an ice chute. Sori and Byre came down first, and Ryu came down a few seconds later. They slid downwards gaining speed, but soon the chute leveled out and they stopped sliding in an icy cavern. The walls of the cavern were a dark blue color, and there was barely any light. Further down, there was a light, but before either of them could say a word, Ryu came sliding down after them, knocking all of them down to the next portion of the chute.

Andy was walking along the hallway. He had heard the thud of the doors closing earlier, so he walked briskly through the ice tunnels. He had taken the path on the right, and it seemed that his hopes of the yoshis taking the left path had come true. After a while, the ice paths led to an actual building built into the mountain. He opened the door and inside was a long, icy carpet leading to another door. After traversing through several rooms, he came out the backside of the building to an icy alcove with a bridge leading up to a circular area with icy decorations and sculptures surrounding it. He walked into the center, and admired the view. He wondered where the yoshis had ended up, or what they were doing. _Have they found the star shi_p? Did I take the wrong path? How should I have known to take the left path if that was the right one? It all seemed too easy, as he hadn't run into a single problem all the way up to where he was now. He went back to the back entrance and tried the door. It was locked. _No, this can't have happened._ A cold, icy breeze swooshed quickly behind him.

"What's going on" he said audibly. There was no answer, but another icy chill whispered through the air.

"What business do you have in my Palace?" said a voice. Andy didn't answer.

"I repeat myself. What business do you have here?"

"None of yours, now let me out!"

"Any business in my palace is my business." A being appeared right in front of him. He wore a semi-transparent blue coat and had only eyes for a face. His crown was ice with sharp, pointed edges. Above and around him was a swarm of razor-sharp ice shards, swirling rapidly.

"I am the Crystal King, and you'll pay for your insolence." Andy didn't seem fazed.

"Alright. Bring it on, Ice Guy" he replied as he swung his fists around his chest. The Crystal King raised up his arms, and the swarm of ice shards shot towards Andy and swirled around him, gradually getting closer to his body. Now they started to hit his cloak, tearing it as they shot past him. He tried to get out, but his arm was caught briefly in the flurry of shards and they ripped the cloth to pieces. He had no idea what to do, and realized his hopelessness.

"Please! Please, don't do this!" he pleaded. He immediately thought back to when he beat up the other Bandit many years ago and how he pleaded in the same exact way. At this moment, he wished he could take it all back – beating up the Bandit, stealing from people, and even getting mixed up with the group of yoshis looking for the treasure. _Why am I like this? Why can't I just live a normal, happy life? _The ice shards continued to swirl around him. They were starting to sting.


	22. Chapter 22 :: Changing Sides

Chapter 22 :: Changing Sides

The yoshis were sliding fast now, and approaching the end of the chute. They emerged out of the opening, and below them was nothing but a few feet of air. They were in the same room as Andy and the Crystal King, and ran straight into the Crystal King.

"Ooof!" he yelled. The swarm of ice shards around Andy fell to the ground. He looked up to see the yoshis and the Crystal King scattered in the snow.

"Now you'll really pay" said the Crystal King as he got up from the ground. He raised up his ice shards once again and they started to swirl around the yoshis. _Now's my chance_, Andy thought. He ran back to the door, and this time it opened. But he hesitated. Something was holding him back. He turned around to see them. He remembered the Ice Piranhas from before. _No, not this time_. He packed together a snowball and threw it at the Crystal King. It splattered hard against his chest, and gave the yoshis an opportunity to attack. Ryu leapt forward towards him, but before he made contact, he vanished and reappeared a few feet over.

"You think you can beat me?" the Crystal King taunted. He raised up his arms, and his cloak began to flap around wildly. His body split into three identical copies and raised up into the air. In perfect unison, each copy manifested a lightning bolt from their hands and shot them towards the yoshis, with Andy behind them. The lightning bolts were an intense blue color. Two of the bolts narrowly missed Byre and Sori, but one bolt hit Ryu, freezing him instantly. The look of fear remained frozen on his face.

"Ryu!" yelled Sori. She ran over to him, only to narrowly miss another barrage of lightning bolts.

"Sori! We need to figure out which one is real!" said Byre. He chucked a snowball at one of the copies. It went straight through it and it vanished.

"Great idea!" she said, and threw another. It hit the Crystal King, and the other copy disappeared, giving them another opportunity. From behind them, Andy jumped onto the Crystal King, who was still hovering off the ground. He began throwing punches, just like how he always had. _This time it's different_, he thought. _This time I'm doing something right._ The Crystal King shook him off after taking a few of the punches. His crown was chipped in a few places. He stood for a moment to catch his breath.

"You haven't beaten me yet" he said. "No one who enters this palace has ever left!" He raised his arms up once more, summoning a large ball of lightning above his head. The rest of their surroundings became dim, and the intense bright light sparked in every direction.

"Dodge this!" he yelled, and released the lightning towards everyone. It shot out immediately with a blinding flash and booming crash. _Could this be it_, thought Sori. _We came all of this way only to fail right near the end?_ She instinctively jumped behind Ryu who was still frozen, and the lightning dissipated around him. Byre and Andy were frozen solid.

"I know you're out there, little yoshi" said the Crystal King. "You can't hide from me forever." _He's right_, she thought. _But there's nothing I can do._ All of her friends were frozen. It was up to her to get everyone out of this and she couldn't freeze up under pressure. It was now, or it was never. She stepped out from behind Ryu.

"I'm here, now come and get me" she said.

"With pleasure" said the Crystal King. Once again, he raised his arms and manifested another lightning bolt. As he released it, Sori pulled out one of the keys and held it in front of her. _I really hope this works_, she thought and looked away. The bolt zapped towards her in an arc, straight into the tip of the key. It burst into an explosion of light, blinding the Crystal King. The lightning sizzled out of existence, leaving the key glowing bright blue. It was cool to the touch.

"Ahhhgg!" yelled the Crystal King. He bent down to his knees in defeat and vanished into the air and everybody became thawed out.

"Brrrr" said Byre. "...what happened?" He shook frivolously.

"I just remember getting zapped, and then I woke up really cold" said Ryu. Sori stood in amazement at the glowing key in her hands.

"I-I...used the key, and it_ did something_."

"That's really weird" said Andy, from behind them. The yoshis were perplexed at the sound of his voice.

"Andy? What? How? Why?" said Byre. Andy looked down in shame.

"I...I don't know what to say." Sori eyed him carefully.

"Why did you help us?" she asked.

"I just...I don't know, okay? Why don't you just enjoy it...before I change my mind..."

"Looks like somebody actually has some morals" she said, smiling.

"Yeah, yeah...don't get used to it" he said. "I'll be on my way now." He made his way for the door.

"Wait" said Byre. "You don't have to leave. You can come with us, if you want." Ryu looked concerned.

"Byre, are you sure we can trust—"

"Yes." He looked at Andy and tried to read him. It was hard to tell if Bandits were being genuine because of their masks. But you could tell, if you tried hard enough. "I trust him." Andy looked at Byre. His mind jumped to ideas about how he could abuse Byre's trust, but he snapped quickly out of it. _This is my life now_, he thought. _I'm going to be good, and I don't care what others think about me anymore_.

"Thank you" said Andy. Sori believed Andy as well, but Ryu wasn't so quick to trust him completely.

"Okay, okay. You can join us" said Ryu. "But I'm keeping a close eye on you."

"Fair enough" he replied.

"Okay...now that this is all settled" said Sori. "What about that secret room we're supposed to find? Where's the star ship?" She looked around the snowy arena they had just been battling in. The center was raised up, with only a bridge connecting it to the main building behind them. Underneath was just a bunch of space. _There's no way this thing can be held up by the bridge on its own, _she thought.

"No way..." she said. She began digging up the snow in the middle of the arena, and after a few inches, she reached solid metal. "THIS is the star ship!" she exclaimed.

"Um...Sori? Are you sure?" said Byre.

"Yes! Clear off the snow!" They all complied and began to clear off the snow of the arena. Surely enough, it was all completely metal. It dipped down in the middle to allow space for them to stand, and within the ship were the controls to turn it on. Sori flipped the switch, and it immediately came to life. The bridge crumbled away as the ship rose out of its resting place and snow tumbled off the edges.

"How do we fly this thing?" said Ryu. "There's just that one switch."

"We don't" replied Sori. "It just goes to Star Haven. It'll take us there, without a doubt." Upon reaching open skies, the star ship greatly accelerated off in a random direction, presumably Star Haven. As it passed through the sparkling night sky, a blazing streak of light was left behind them.


	23. Chapter 23 :: Into the Skies

Chapter 23 :: Into the Skies

_Just a minute ago, we were on the ground in the Ice Palace and now here we are, cruising through the sky on a star ship_, thought Byre. He was amazed at how quickly things had progressed. In the beginning, he only went on this adventure because he wanted to change. Now he finally had, and was gazing down at the ground so far below them. He could see the lights of Toad Town, dimly shining in a little area near the sea. He could see the desert behind them where they were only a few days ago. In the midst of the forest of trees, he could see the little rooftop of Boo Mansion. If he squinted hard enough, he could even see a small little dot out of an island in the middle of the ocean. It was home. For the first time since he'd left, he had actually seen his home again. It looked so small and insignificant, but to Byre and the rest of the yoshis, it was so much more. He wanted to go back now, more than ever. _We're so close_, he thought. _We're finally almost there_.

Up ahead in the sky they could see Star Haven, a floating city far above the clouds. There were little stars flying around it everywhere. They came up to a platform on the edge of the town and the starship came to a gradual stop. Everything was absolutely beautiful and sparkled like starlight. The ground was purple, and pink flowers were scattered about along the path and next to the buildings. A fountain gushed with water. Everything was so calm and peaceful. One of the stars came cruising up to them. It was just a little child, and it smiled as it approached them.

"Hello, travelers! What brings you to Star Haven?"

"Hi!" said Sori, gleefully. "We're here to find a key or some sort, like this" she said as she pulled out one of the sparkling keys.

"Oh..." said the star kid. "I don't know where one of those is...sorry." He frowned. "But I can take you to someone who might. Follow me!" They followed the star kid through the town and admired the beautiful sights along the way. After a few minutes, they came up to a large dome shaped building with a large staircase leading up to the center. It was surrounded by several water fountains and sparkled more dazzlingly than the rest of the town. Inside, the seven star sprits looked down on them as they entered.

"Hello, Star Sprits" said the star kid. "These travelers have come a long way to speak to you!" Eldstar, the oldest of the Star Spirits floated down in front of them.

"Thank you, young one. Hello, young travelers. What brings you to Star Haven?" There was a brief pause before anybody spoke up.

"Ahem, we're here to find another key like this one" said Sori as she pulled out one of the keys. Eldstar eyed it carefully.

"Ahh, I see. Yes, we have a key like that here. It's been here for a very long time in fact. The story of these keys is a little long. Would you like to hear it?"

"Absolutely!" said Sori, a little bit too excitedly.

"Listen carefully then. This story has been told for many generations..."

"_A long time ago before Star Haven was created, there were two Star Sprits whose names were Coelus and Astrum. Coelus represented the skies, and Astrum represented the stars. They drifted aimlessly through the Cosmos, looking for a purpose for their existence. Upon finding this formless planet, they each made it their home and created the sky and the stars around it. All was well until a conflict arose between them. Coelus became irritated at the stars that populated his beautiful skies. He believed his creation was perfect without the stars, and sought to get rid of them. One day, he flew up to the stars and destroyed them, one by one. The shattered remains of Astrum's stars drifted down towards the planet, and the stars in the sky became fewer and fewer. Before Coelus had finished his vicious rampage, Astrum confronted him and challenged him to a fight for their existence. So they did. Way up above the planet's surface, Coelus and Astrum fought vigorously against each other. They fought for a long, long time, until finally they were becoming tired and frustrated. Coelus shot towards Astrum, and Astrum shot towards Coelus. Traveling at tremendous speeds, the two Star Sprits collided in a brilliant explosion of light. Coelus survived, but lost a part of himself. Astrum did not live. The remains of their fight was the very beginning of Star Haven, the combination of stars and the sky. Over time, new Star Spirits gathered here, and it became the resting place for all. But, the memory of Coelus and Astrum remained, and the scars of Coelus' rampage can still be seen in the skies to this day. Coelus would watch and observe as more and more Star Spirits came to his domain, ruining it with their ideas and creations. He became bitter, and decided to rid them of his home, so he lashed out against the Star Spirits, doing as much damage as he could. Many Star Spirits died from his wrath, but before he could continue further, he was restrained by the Star Spirits and locked away...with the keys you seek. The keys were scattered throughout the lands to avoid him being released, and the location of his prison remained unknown to every being but the oldest Star Spirits. It is said however, that with Coelus still alive, the stars in the sky were still at risk of destruction, possibly more. It was foretold that in time, Coelus would build up his strength and be able to escape his prison and wreak havoc once again. It was also foretold that a group of heroes would emerge and collect the three keys before Coelus was strong enough to escape, and the heroes would be noble and pure of heart. I suspect you are the heroes of this prophecy."_

Eldstar inspected each of them individually. He first studied Ryu. "Ahh, very adventuresome. You are courageous and willing to beat the odds at all costs. Very good."

He moved on to Byre. "You are also courageous, but your courage comes from somewhere else – the heart. Good."

He moved on to Sori. "You are wise and caring. You put the needs of other's above your own, and are capable of expressing great emotion. Excellent."

He moved on to Andy. "Ahh, you are a troubled one. Your mind is torn between good and evil." Andy began to look nervous. "But despite these turbulent emotions, you've overcome them and come into the light. A sign of true determination and stubbornness. You are strong." Eldstar moved back and addressed them all. "I have determined that you are all worthy of receiving the key to open the prison and defeat Coelus."

"But...it said there was supposed to be an ancient treasure..." said Ryu. He seemed very disappointed.

"Ahh, yes" said Eldstar. "That was to provide insurance for the whole _heroes emerging from nowhere_ thing. Prophecies don't always come true, you know. Sometimes they need some encouragement to come true. So does fate."

"But we're not heroes" said Byre. "We're just a few yoshis...and a Bandit."

"It's not the outside that defines a hero. The heart and soul of a hero is their determination. You are the four heroes."

"I don't know what to say...but, okay. Let's do this!" said Ryu.

"I will fly you down to the Volcano now. We mustn't waste any time." A bubble encapsulated Eldstar and the four and they lifted off of Star Haven and began to float gracefully down into the atmosphere. They flew over the ocean and through the clouds and off on the horizon they could see LavaLava Island. They flew high above over the yoshi village, and landed up on top of the Volcano. They were finally home after so long, but their adventure wasn't over yet.


	24. Chapter 24 :: The Heroes Emerge

Chapter 24 :: The Heroes Emerge

The four began making their way down into the volcano, just like so long before. Eldstar remained at the top of the volcano. As they descended farther and farther into the volcano, Byre was in amazement of what they were doing. _An ancient star spirit is locked away down here, and we're going to go defeat it...have we lost our minds?_ He began to feel nervous. He didn't want to go any further. Why did they have to do this? What if they _weren't_ the heroes? He stopped walking, and Sori turned back to him.

"Byre? What's wrong?"

"I...I don't want to go" he said.

"Byre, I don't either, but we have to. You heard what Eldstar said, we _are_ the four heroes, and without you, we're only the three heroes. We can't do this without you." _She's right_, he thought. It went against every instinct he had, but he had to continue forward. Right now, he would be courageous and daring. He'd be the yoshi Sori wanted.

Sori thought back to when they were in Toad Town, sitting on the bench in front of the ocean. That was the last time she had any romantic thoughts run through her mind. They had been so occupied with finding the last key she didn't have any time to think about anything else. She wished she had done something then. What if they didn't survive whatever was going to happen next? She tried not to think about it. Before long, they reached the same circular room as they had been in before. A chill ran down their spines as they saw the three key holes in the far corner of the room. It was time. Sori gave a key to Byre and Ryu and kept one for herself.

"Okay, this is it guys. Are we ready?"

"I'm ready" said Ryu.

"Yeah" said Byre.

"Bring it on" said Andy.

"Okay, turn the keys..."

They turned the three keys in unison and they clicked into place. The floor rumbled strongly beneath them and began to descend, scraping against the hard, rocky walls on the way down. It began to get darker and hotter as they lowered further into the volcano. Suddenly, a burst of red light and heat came from one side of the room. The platform stopped at the bottom, and outside the opening was a humongous room with a large circular arena in the center. Rivers of magma poured down the sides of the dome-shaped cavern, and light from the magma below emanated upwards and all around the room. "Whoa!" said Sori. She had turned around to look at the keys, but they were no longer there. In their place was a sword. It sparkled like starlight, just like the keys.

"A sword? No way!" said Ryu.

"There's an inscription" said Sori. "It says: _Blade of Starlight_."

"Wow, that's so cool!" said Ryu. "Um, who's going to hold onto it?" Everybody looked around.

"I think Andy should use it" said Sori. "He's the best fighter of all of us."

"Are you sure?" said Ryu. "Can we trust him?"

"He's the best, Ryu. He should wield it" said Byre. Sori gave the sword to Andy. He looked down at the blade. It was beautiful, but looked very deadly.

"I'll do my best" he said. They emerged into the cavern, and the platform they stood on rose up again, blocking the exit. Off in a dark corner of the cavern, a low, airy voice started to speak.

"I see the heroes have finally come to destroy me..." the voice said. "...but it's too bad they will surely fail." Coelus emerged from the darkness, his yellow eyes piercing through the fog. His body was a dark blue color, and a huge black scar ran up through his entire body. A jagged smile appeared across his mouth. "Well, look at what we have here. Three colorful yoshis and a lone bandit – hardly what I'd imagine to be hero material. This shouldn't take long. Soon I will break out from this prison and rid the skies of impurities, once again and for all eternity!" Coelus flew up into the air and crashed into the ceiling. Several large boulders fell down, and they had to dodge them for their lives. After the rocks stopped falling, they ran towards Coelus in attack. It seemed so surreal, what was happening. Here in the heart of the volcano, they were fighting an all-powerful ancient Star Spirit.

Andy ran in front of the pack with the sword in his right hand, trailing behind him. He jumped in the air towards Coelus, only to have him dodge his attack sending Andy crashing to the ground and sliding precariously towards the edge of the arena, molten magma rising up from below.

"We can't hit him!" yelled Sori. "We need to attack separately or it'll be no use!" They all split up and scattered around the arena, surrounding Coelus in the center.

"Haha, isn't this cute" said Coelus. "Try dodging this!" Coelus became white hot and energy shot out from him in a shockwave, traveling along the surface of the arena. It was too quick to dodge, and they were all sent flying backwards only to be hit by another shockwave seconds later. Coelus flew over to Andy.

"I see you have the sword that is supposed to vanquish me. It's a shame you don't know how to use it. Would you like to know something about that sword? You do? Okay, I'll tell you. It's made from the shattered remains of Astrum, that weak excuse for a Star Spirit. I find it rather amusing that they think he would have any chance against me again. Anyways, I won't ramble any longer. You'll be the first to die in this cute group of friends."

"No he won't!" yelled Ryu. He rushed up behind Coelus and jumped towards him with all of his strength. He made contact and they were both sent flying towards the edge of the arena. Ryu lay on top of Coelus.

"Andy, now! Use the sword!" yelled Ryu.

"I can't! I might hit _you!"_

"DO IT!" Coelus threw Ryu off of him and flew back up into the middle of the arena. He summoned a great energy, and began to spark like lightning. A dark black fog began to swirl around him and drifted slowly down towards them. Lightning began to arc in all directions, hitting the walls and ceiling of the cavern. Rocks exploded outwards in every direction and they couldn't see them because of the black fog.

"What do we do?" yelled Sori.

"I can't see anything!" yelled Byre. Suddenly, a giant thunderclap crashed and a bolt of lightning arced over to Andy. He held his sword up in defense, and the lightning was absorbed into it. The sword shone light out in all directions, and now gleamed dark red. A bright crack was now across the blade. A red aura surrounded the blade.

"No!" yelled Coelus. "No, it can't be!"

"It can" said a mysterious voice. It came from the sword. Andy was slightly startled by the sudden appearance.

"I am Astrum, and I live on to defeat you once and for all through the help of the four heroes" said Astrum. "With my aid, they wield the power to rid the world of your chaotic reign!"

"We'll just see about that!" yelled Coelus. His voice boomed intensely throughout the cavern.

"Andy, what should we do?" said Sori. Andy was surprised that so much responsibility had suddenly been thrust upon him. _Can I really do this_, he thought. _What if I fail? What will happen?_ He looked down at the sword in his hands. He felt power surging throughout his body. Whatever was happening, it was good and he felt powerful.

"Distract him, I don't know!" he yelled back. The fog had mostly subsided and Coelus was back at near ground level. His scar was pulsing. Apparently the attack he made had taken a lot of energy out of him. He was weak. He was vulnerable. Before they could run in, he rose up again and repeated the shock wave attack. This time, though, they were ready. They jumped over the multiple shockwaves as he repeated them. Again, he seemed weakened through the use of his powers. _That's how we'll win_, thought Sori. _Just keep him attacking us and let Andy make the final blow._

"Hey, Coelus! Over here!" she yelled. "Come on, is that all you've got? Show me!" Coelus shot towards Sori with great speed. She wasn't prepared for such a sudden impact and was glanced by his attack, sending her towards the edge of the arena. She slipped over the side and barely managed to grab ahold of the edge before falling down to the magma below.

"Sori!" yelled Byre. Ryu saw them, but Coelus was going after him now. Byre ran over to Sori and grabbed her hand and started to pull her up. Her eyes were wide with fear. He pulled her up over the side.

"Thank you so much Byre!" she gasped and hugged him. Her breathing was fast and her heart pounded fast. Byre was surprised by the suddenness of it all.

"A little help here, guys?" said Ryu. Coelus was going after him with a barrage of attacks. Andy tried to stay out of Coelus' sight, waiting for the right moment to jump in. The crack in the blade was severe, and he might only have one chance.

"Maybe I underestimated you, but that doesn't mean anything! I will win this fight!" Coelus screamed. He was getting angry and irritated. Their plan was working. Coelus charged again with another attack towards Byre, Ryu and Sori. They had been running around dodging his attacks for a while now and were getting too tired to continue much further.

"I will win this battle" said Coelus. "I will rid the skies of the impurities that plague its existence. I am perfect. My creation is perfect, and only my creation!" He gleamed with light, his scar pulsing. It looked like it hurt him to attack now. This was it.

Andy rushed in from behind Coelus with the blade in his hands. He felt cold, and a shiver swept through his spine as he ran faster and faster towards Coelus. With all of his might, he leapt up in the air. Time seemed to be going so slowly now. Coelus noticed his presence and turned around, but it was too late. The blade struck him, and carved its way into his body.

"AHHHHH!" he screamed. The blade dug further into him, into the scar across his body. From the wound, light shot out in all directions. Coelus' body broke into a million pieces, as well as the sword. The shattered remains of Coelus and Astrum rained down in a sparkling cloud of starlight. It was over. Andy sat on his knees, panting heavily through his mask.

"You did it!" yelled Sori. They all rushed over to him in immense happiness. _We did it_, thought Sori. They had defeated Coelus!

"Hey, man" said Ryu. "I'm glad you decided to come along."

"Me too. I'm so sorry about before, I just—"

"Forget it. It's in the past. You're not like other Bandits. You give them a good name." Those words meant so much to Andy. He'd never been praised for anything his entire life. Finally, he had something to live for. "It's just too bad there wasn't any treasure..."

"This entire adventure was the treasure for me" said Sori. She smiled.

"Me, too. But um...how do we get out of here? Our entryway is kind of blocked now" said Byre.

"There must be another way out" said Sori. Sure enough, after some exploring of the rest of the cavern, they found another cave that continued onwards. Further down was another staircase leading upwards, and they emerged from a hidden opening in the side of a rock face on the volcano. Eldstar came down to meet them.

"Congratulations, heroes!" he exclaimed. "Thanks to you, Star Haven lives on! The wishes of people all across the land can still be granted. Oh! And I do believe I have something for all of you!" He rustled about and pulled out four golden bags. "There may not have been a great treasure beneath the volcano, but I think you should get something for your good deeds!"

He went in front of Andy. "For you, Andy, I have the pin of good nature." He handed it to Andy. On the pin were two wings. "The wings represent the goodness in your soul." He moved over to Ryu. "For you, Ryu, I have the pin of adventurous spirit." On the pin were markings for North, South, East and West. "It doubles as a compass!" He moved on to Byre. "For you, Byre, I have the pin of bravery." He handed it to Byre. A tiger was on the pin's face. "And lastly for you, Sori, I have the pin of Wisdom." He handed the pin to Sori. On its face was an owl.

"Thank you again for your help" said Eldstar. "You have done so well." He flew back up and faded away into the night sky. Their journey was truly over.


	25. Chapter 25 :: Epilogue

Chapter 25 :: Epilogue

They all slept soundly in the quiet yoshi village that night. It didn't take long for any of them to fall asleep, as they had been awake for many, many hours. In the morning, after having the biggest breakfast he'd ever had, Byre made the decision to tell Sori how he truly felt. If he could defeat an ancient Star Spirit, surely he could just speak his mind. He went over to her shack, and knocked on the door. She answered.

"Hey, Byre, how's it going?" she said.

"Good." He paused. "Can I talk to you?" Sori was pleasantly surprised.

"Yeah, of course, come in."

"It's about...you. I'll make this really quick, okay?" She just looked at him in anticipation. She tried not to smile, but her eyes widened. "...through our adventure, I found myself thinking that...I might, you know...like you, and I know that might seem w—"

"Byre, I like you too" she said, and smiled brightly.

"You do?" he replied. "...and you know I meant _really_ like, not just _regular_ like, and—"

"Yes" she said and smiled again. "I _really, really_ like you Byre. You're so funny, and smart, and brave. It took me a while to finally realize that, but now I have, and I'm so glad." The biggest grin ever appeared across Byre's face.

"I'm so glad that you think that" he said. "...and you're so smart, and caring and beautiful. There are so many things about you I love."

"Aww" said Sori. "That means so much to me, Byre...come on, let's go somewhere!"

"Like where?" said Byre. He couldn't hide the excitement in his voice.

"I don't know – anywhere. Let's go on a new adventure. I heard about this town across the ocean somewhere. It's apparently much bigger than Toad Town. Who knows what kind of treasures could be there! We could round up everyone and go discover it for ourselves! Oh, what was it called again?" She put her hand to her chin in thought. "Oh yeah, Rougeport!"

YOSHI TAILS

* * *

_Dear readers,_

_Thank you so much for reading my story, despite all of its many flaws and not-so-well-written parts. It was a lot of fun writing it, and I'm really glad to say that I actually completed it! It's the first story I have ever written, and I'm fairly proud of it (24k+ words isn't bad!). I hope you enjoyed reading it, and if you did read the story in its entirety, I'd really appreciate it if you left an overall review saying what you thought about the story as a whole, and anything you think I could have done differently. This was a good learning experience for me, but what would make it a great learning experience are some helpful, constructive reviews._

_Special Thanks to Eduardo Amador Amazonas for his opinions on the story, as well as some advice here and there._

_Also, if you enjoyed this story, you can look forward to my next one, Paper Mario : The Dance of Seasons (title pending). It will be a novelization of the Paper Mario story type, and will also be a little darker and on a grander scale. I've got a lot I'd like to plan before I begin writing it, so I'm not too sure on when you can expect the first chapters to start coming out, but hopefully soon! Thanks again for reading, I really appreciate it!_


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